Something Strange
by Peanut16
Summary: Used to be Well Thats Never Happened to Me Before!.What happens when some girl names Cara tries to fight her past and over come it, meeting an interesting new guy on the way, one who helps her of her get back a little bit of normalcy. CaraLes
1. I'm Cara

Spoilers: Probably a bunch

Disclaimer: Cara's mine but no one else's.

Summery: A girl finds her self in Stephanie Plum's world.

Chapter 1

My name is Cara and I am 17 turning 18 in a week. My favorite colors are dark brown, green and blue. I'm a dark person. Black, I wouldn't consider it a favorite color but I like to wear it along with the three others. I live in Maine, the winters cold and the summers warm, fall and spring are the best. I'm also a diabetic, I usually carry a kit with me but thats not the most of my problems right now.

So, what I'm getting at is that about thirty seconds ago I went from signing off my favorite web-page ever to landing-very painfully-on something that felt oh to much like pavement. Ow. I was almost literally seeing stars. I managed to pry my eyes open and would of liked to see my white ceiling. Unfortunately I saw a foggy blue sky. Shit. Suddenly, I felt tired. I just wanted to snuggle under the covers and go to sleep. I shifted to pull them over my head, school can wait.

Oh wait. I'm on the tar. No school. No bed. I sighed and slowly sat up. I looked around. I was in the middle of a highway, two yellow lines ran down the middle with the usual break down lanes on the sides. Grass. No, more like dirt, the grass was all burt and icky looking. With a final sigh I carefully peeled myself off the ground and take stock of what I have. PJ's. I'm wearing a a little cotton tank-top and shorts, barefoot with minor bruising starting and little blood. I looked awful. I felt my hair, messy, yuck. I hated it when my hair was messy. Ulk.

_What the hell is going on? One second I'm reluctantly logging out and the next I'm getting off the tar. This is seriously fucked up, I mean, seriously fucke- _I was cut off with the sound of a car. I turned and looked in the direction and shrieked. I was still standing there in the middle of the road and a sleek black ford f-150 was coming down the road. I quickly got out of the road and way hoping the car would just keep driving.

No such luck. I started sliding away slowly, edging away from the road. Being raised in a cautious neighborhood, I, as well as my friends learned not to talk to strangers, don't get in the car with strangers, pretty much. Stay away from them with out an adult. Weird...hard to make friends though. Anyways...

As the car pulled to a stop to the side of the road, I took another step away. A man, hispanic maybe, stepped out of the car. Long black hair pulled into a ponytail at the back of his neck, bulging muscles, six feet tall and very intimidating. I sucked in a breath and stumbled backwards over a rock. Hot? Sure...absolutely, but that was a little hard to think about. I was tired, dirty and bloody, felt like hell and just wanted to be home.

He put his hands up in front of himself in a 'I'm not going to hurt you' kind of way. He took some more steps towards me and I managed to get sitting up. I was ready...to run. With my arms at my side and legs planted in the crab walk fashion, he squatted down a couple feet away. I'm sure my eyes were as wide as saucers.

He looked at me carefully, scanned me from head to toe before his eyes met mine. He had dark, molten chocolate eyes and I found myself lost in them. "Are you okay?"

I nodded and he continued realizing that I obviously wasn't going to speak. "Do you know where you are?" I shook my head no. "Is there someone you can call?" I shook my head again. "Can you tell me what happened?" I didn't do anything. I didn't really know what happened all I knew was that the person now standing in front of me looked really close to a character in my books. He looked a lot like Ranger... actually. To think about it, he was exactly like Janet Evanovich described him. Huh? "Can you tell me your name?" he asked snapping me out of my daze.

"Cara." I whispered.

He smiled lightly, probably trying to look less menacing. I chewed my bottom lip nervously. "Ranger." He responded. Shit!! WTF? He can't be Ranger, because that would mean I'm _in_ her books and that just can't be. This is a dream. I know it. I'm dreaming, this isn't ranger, noway, nohow.

I pinched my arm lightly. Ow. Damnit!! I looked up as I heard him chuckling. I shifted uncomfortably and started standing up. He stood quicker and held out his hand to me. I looked at it, then at him and slid my hand into his. He pulled me up and I pulled my hand back as I took a large step back. I looked down and suddenly felt very uncomfortable. I was still dirty, tired and confused.

"You need a ride somewhere?" he offered.

"I don't even know what state I'm in." I mumbled. He looked mildly surprised, then confused. I felt embarrassed so I put on the best blank face I could muster up. "Um...thanks." With that I turned and walked to the side, then away.

I had only gotten a couple steps when he placed a hand on my shoulder. I tensed and jerked away from his touch. All I could think about was the fact that I was unarmed. I ALWAYS carried a weapon (an my kit, but...). I didn't like guns that much but I had one and knew how to use it proficiently. Knifes on the other hand. I loved knifes, I usually had two or three on me at a time. That along with a little karate, gymnastics and training and I was safe. Always. There I was unarmed. I looked down longingly at my leg where I would keep my knifes or gun. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes. Unarmed. Oh shit. The one time I had been unarmed, I had been hurt. Badly. I got over it and had never had a moment like this before. My breathing was unnatural, faster, like I had just done my morning run of five miles.

"Cara?" I looked up at him, my eyes taking in every feature, he had weapons, a gun, maglight, stun-gun, pepper spray, and two pairs of cuffs. Cuffs. Oh god. "Cara." His voice was stern. I brought my eyes up to his and stepped back. "Cara, Cara, stay with me." He said probably because I was swaying as the black dots got bigger and bigger until my legs buckled and felt myself start to fall. Large arms caught me before I hit the ground. I was having an internal struggle trying to keep myself calm.

My feet left the ground and he was carrying me somewhere. I heard the sound of another deep baritone voice asking him questions, who I was..I couldn't really understand what he was saying very well. I heard a car door open and felt him place me onto a warm seat. The seat belt buckled in place and I could no longer keep myself conscious.

End of Chapter

_R&R! This is just the beginning!:D Muhaha_

_Peanut16_


	2. Job Offer & Exquisit Skills

Chapter 2

Bed. That was my first full thought. Ha! See it was a dream. I can just get up and go to school. Meeting Ranger was just a dream. I smiled and reached over to grab my alarm clock. When I felt my hand hit a leg. I bolted upright, and rolled out of bed skilfully landing on my feet in a defence stance. Ranger. Ranger was now standing in front of the chair dressed in SWAT black with his gun belt and CAT boots. I took a deep breath and reolized nothing was a dream, Ranger was really here and he really did find me in PJ's. I ran over everything that had happened.

I took a deep calming breath and scanned the room. There was a big bed with silky looking sheets, berow, a closet, bathroom off of the side. I focussed back on him. "Where am I?"

"My apartment at Rangeman HQ." Rangeman! OMG!! I was in his apartment. I am in Batman's bedroom.

"Wh-Why?"

"Cara." He said in a 'Duh'. voice.

"Why? Why am I here?" I asked getting more panicked by the second.

"It's okay. Your safe."

"Safe?" How can I possibly be safe? I'm unarmed, and mostly defenceless.

"Safe. I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you."

"Huh?" Whoa?! What? "You don't even know me."

"I guess not but I still want to help you."

"But why? I'm a teen who doesn't even know which fucking state their in!" I was panting by now.

"Because you have potential. When I first saw you I just wanted to get you to someone safe, but with what I've seen so far. You have serious potential. You scan your surroundings whenever, your fast and aware..." There was a pause. "Plus. I saw you eyeing my wepons yesterday. You comfortable with one of these?" He asked bluntly pulling out a gun and handing pushing it in my direction.

I took the gun and turned it over in my hand before popping out the clip, checking the bullets, and pushing it back in, cocking it and flipping it so I was holding the barrel. I looked up at him. "9milameter, loaded with blanks. And yes, I'm confortable enough with them."

He smiled and took the gun back, locking the safety on before returning it to the holster. "Very good. You hungry?"

"Starving." I was hungry. Really, really hungry and now that I think about it, I haven't checked my bloodsugar lately... I followed behind him as he walked through a doorway and into a small kitchen. Everything was expensive looking. He waved his hand at a chair and had me sit. I did and he came back with two bottles of water on a tray. He set the tray on the table and set a water in front of me. I looked at it then picked it up. After examining the bottle for tampering I twisted the cap and waited for the clicking sound that meant it was still closed. It clicked. Satified, I took a swig of it. I looked up to see him watching me intently. "What?"

"Nothing." He said shaking his head and looking down at his plate. I reolized I also had a plate of my own, nothing to sugarry looking. Plus, he doesn't look like a sugar eating kinda' guy.

I started picking at it. I was a catious person. I always cooked my own food, got my own drinks and was careful when it came to going out.

I finished my plate and looked up at him. He was watching me again. "That was very good." I complemented.

He nodded then got up and took both of our dishes away. I looked down at my hands in my lap and saw the small cuts and scratches on my hands. I looked over the rest of me, I had an gauze pad on the back of my leg.

I looked up when he entered. "How did I get these?" I asked pointing to the gauze.

"I had to dress your wounds. Your pretty cut up. Going to tell me how?"

"I don't really remember. I just woke up in the middle of the road in...this." I said waving my hand at my clothing.

He looked skepticle so I changed the subject. "I need clothes. I can't stayin this outfit. Do you have anything I can wear?"

"I think I've something that will work." He answered and tugged me by the hand gently back towrds the bedroom. He went into the closet and returned a few minutes later with a black t-shirt, cargo pants, CAT boots and belt. I took them from him and he told me to go into the bathroom and take a shower. He showed me where things were and change.

I did. Everything fit good. Almost perfectly. There was a gun holster on the hip along with a cellphone clip and things for a maglight and pepper spray. I walked out feeling more confident now that I had more than PJ's on. He was streached out on the bed with his hands folded behind his head and legs crossed at the ancles.

I get to wear a color I like. Thats an up. But the best part of this was that over my left breast, with black thread the word Rangeman embroidered on it.

"Better?"

"Yeah. Uh...Thanks." I need a job so I can get money, so I can get wepondry and live.

"Would you be interested in working for me?"

"What would I do?"

"I'll have you start with basic training then more advanced as you progress. You'll start with some office research for a while, then you can do some monitering, distraction jobs and takedowns. Just start simple and go frm there."

Training? I have advanced training as it is. "Okay. When do I start?"

"You can start research on monday, and I'd like to start training today. You up for it?"

I smiled. "Yep." Oh yeah.

He gave me some work out clothes to change into and I returned to the bathroom to the bathroom to change. Again. I came out in the sweat pants and t-shirt he had given me. He was wearing a similar outfit just bigger. He led me out to the front door and opened it an elevator. An elevator. Damn...He ushered me in and I emidiatly pressed my back up against the wall and stood with my feet at shoulder width. He stood like I did just he stood facing the door instead of the side.

When the elevator opened he led me inside of what looked like the coolest gym ever. I was almost drooling. I am wierd like that. I have this odd obsession over working out. There were mats to one side while the other had machines. He led me over to the mats. We took defensive positions and I waited. I knew he was testing me and waiting for me to attack. I was trained for this. He was weponless as I was so it was purely hand to hand. I was ready.

I did a backflip closer, then abruptly dropped to the ground and swiped at his legs. I hit his ancles and he landed on his back. I promptly stood and walked backwards away from him, keeping an eye on him. "So? Basic training?" I asked tauntingly.

He stood and faced me with a small bow. "Very good. How much training do you have?"

"We'll just have to find out now wont we." I said with a mischavous smile.

We sparred for about half an hour with neither of us getting a point. Everytime he lunged at me I bounced away with my gymnastic skills, but everytime I went for him he easily blocked or dodged the blow and tried to return it. There was a croud. I could see them out of my perhiperal vision. A lot of them, they were making me nervous though. To many big men. I was out numbered.

By the time an hour had passed we were at the same status point wise. 0-0. We were panting. He stepped back and put his hands back. "We're done for today. You obviously don't need training. We'll still teach you B&E, Lockpicking and anything else you need."

"Cool." I said with a smile. "When do I get to start field work?"

"Actually. I might have something you can help me with..."

_Next chapter will be up soon!:D_

_Peanut16_


	3. Distraction Job&Explanations,nightmare

Chapter 3

Ranger needed me to do a distraction job. The guys name is Michael Sherzoltski. He's a failure to apear for rape, murder, attempted murder, breaking and entering, carrying concealed and pretty much everything...even possession. My job is to get him outside the doors so that Ranger's (Merry) Men can take him down. Easy.

I was (slightly unhappily) wearing a small black skirt and black off the shoulder shirt, 4 inch black FMP's with my hair in a sexy up-do. We have 5 minutes til' nine, when we enter. Ranger was sitting in the car next to me. He turned towards me and opened a little box. A wire. He reached towards me and I jerked back and quickly snatched the wire from him. People don't put their hands in my shirt and live. I also took the

receiver, it was a small ear piece.

He looked a little taken back at this but I just up and headed for the bar entrance. It was dark and musty smelling, lots of alcohol (duh) and loud. My only fear about this was that I was underage. Tomorrow was my birthday and I would still not be old enough to drink. Ranger must not of noticed that I was only 17 but that might be because I look more like 25. I'm mature-ish for my age. I look it and can act it but most of the time I'm just a kid.

I scanned the room quickly finding and marking exits, bartenders, bouncers and my target. Michael Sherzoltski. Whatever the hell kind of name that is...

I walked calmly over to him and sat down on the only empty stool, that just happened to be next to him. I gave him a small smile and waited for the bartender to come over to me. Shit. What to order, I didn't want to be suspicious by getting something like gingerale but if I got a martini could be arrested. The bartender seemed to not of even seen me yet, but the skip did. He turned to face me and I looked back at him. "Hi." I said calmly, ignoring the smell coming off of him. He had dark brown hair, like me, with incredibly creepy green eyes. He was wearing a dark blue button up unbuttoned over a white t-shirt and jeans.

"Why hello..." He said in what I assumed was his sexy voice. He sounded...ick. "What's a pretty lady like you doing here?"

What a cheesy line..."Just hanging out. How about you? Badnight?"

"Caught my girlfriend cheating" He sighed and shook his head slightly. "In my own bed."

"Ouch. Thats harsh." I was trying really hard to lure him out.

He slid his hand onto my thigh and I instantly threw my right fist out in a punch. Oh...Shit. He flung to the floor on his back. I hopped off my stool and waited until he stood up. I saw Ranger out of the corner of my eye. He was slowly approaching but making it look like he wasn't. I was got my breathing under control and tried to put on my best I'm so sorry face. I was a bout to lie my head off. "I'm so sorry...Oh my gosh...look at me I'm a klutz. You just absentmindedly touched me...I'm used to that. It's just that...Oh man...I'm sorry. I'd understand if you'd want me to leave you alone now." I took a deep breath and looked a him.

He had a mischievous grin on his face. "I like 'em feisty. Whata ya' say we head back to my place and do something more productive." He was waggling his eyebrows at me.

I gave him a seductive smile and offered my arm. I stiffened when he took it but released all tension as soon as I could. He walked me out to the parking lot. I let go of his arm once we got a step out the door and pulled away. He was instantly tackled to the ground by who Ranger introduced to me as Lester and Bobby. The doors opened again and Ranger walked out with his right hand man Tank.

I did what my body wanted and slid away from the whole group and backwards into some darker shadows. Ranger followed. I closed my eyes and took in a slow deep breath. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine. I'm sorry I really didn't mean to hit him he just..." I trailed off as tears welled up behind my eyes. I do not cry. Ever. "Bad memories."

"In the car." I'm pretty sure that meant that meant he wanted to talk about it in the car.

He led me back to the Bronco by the elbow. Once I was buckled and he was in the drivers seat he started driving. After five minutes of silence he finally spoke. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Ha! Nothing.

"Cara." Oops. Guess you can't have bad memories about nothing.

I sighed. "Just a bad experience." I lowered my voice, talking almost to myself. "Really bad."

"Tell me about it."

"No..I'd rather not. I'm going to go to sleep. It's been a long day." The car parked and I opened the door. He followed me to the elevator and keyed it up to the 7th floor. Where was I going to sleep? Couch?

When the doors opened I followed him into the apartment. I slid past him and headed to the bathroom. I had only gotten two steps when he grabbed my shoulder and spun me around and pinned me to the wall effortlessly. I looked into his eyes and took deep breaths trying not to attack him. He should know better by now not to touch me, trap me non the less.

_Ranger's POV_

I pinned her to the wall with my strength. Probably not the smartest thing considering she punched the skip when his hand touched her thigh. She's been freaking and tensing every time anybody touched her. She's uncomfortable around men and extremely shy. She's making me look like a chatter box too. "What happened?"

Her eyes glistened from unshed tears. Her eyes turned more distant like she was in a memory, she was showing no emotion. If only I knew what she was thinking.

"His name is Jon. He's a royal jerk at school . Nobody likes him, he's a player. I live somewhat close to the school so...I walk. There is no bus for me. One day about a year ago I stayed after to make up a test, by the end of the time I had to leave it was getting pretty dark. Stupid short days. It was only like four-thirty and I could barely see anything. That night was the last time I ever went anywhere without my cellphone or knife at bare minimum. Since weapons aren't aloud in school I carried my cellphone around with me. When I wasn't in school I had two knifes and usually a gun. At the least.

He followed me to the ally that I have to cut through to get home. About half way down he shoved me against the wall and continued to undress me and..." A tear rolled down her cheek and she took a deep breath. "Violate me. After that I took lots of training courses. I did a boot camp through the summer and hours of vigorous training through the week. I run an average of five miles a day.

He still spoke to me though, asking me what I though about him taking me. He said, 'I got your innocence...whadda ya gonna do now? Your mine bitch.'" With this she clenched her teeth together and started sobbing loudly. I just pulled her into me and held her while she cried.

_Cara's POV_

I did the unexpectable. Cried. Leaned on a stranger and cried, told him my most guarded secret and cried. Weird. He just held onto me. I cried about everything. Jon, Michael, and all the shit I've gotten myself into by getting a job here.

I felt my knees buckle and I could feel myself preparing to fall, again, he caught me. He scooped me up and cuddled me to his large chest.

By the time I was hiccuping he had sat down on the couch, still holding me, making me feel as light as a feather. Geez. I felt my self relax as I felt myself relax into him, suddenly feeling very tired.

_I felt him slam me into the clod brick of the dark ally. The breath left my lungs in a rush. He pressed me harder when I made a move to escape. Nope, not gonna happen. He crushed his lips to mine and grabbed both wrists in one. _

_Suddenly he shed me of my clothes as with his. He was in me, unwillingly. I screamed and cried as he became more aroused . I went into my happy place. Stopped struggling and stopped, just gave up. I thought about my homework and what I would write for the essay I had coming up in English. The poster we're making in art and the lines of the play I'm in..._

_I was brought back to reality when he bit my shoulder. I screamed..._

I was upright in bed, and choked off the loud sob. It was a nightmare, just a nightmare, not real. Arms wrapped around me and I cried out again. I lashed out trying to push him off. I was worked up, I couldn't get him off. "Cara, Cara! It's just me! Stop!" Ranger. Ranger, he's safe. Right?

I stopped fighting but stayed upright and tense for him to let go of me. He didn't. I found my voice somewhere and spoke as calmly as possible. "Let me go." I croaked. "Please." His arms loosened and I pulled out of them and walked quickly to to the door, snatched the keys, and got into the elevator. I practically slammed the button to the ground floor. I was going. I just needed to get out and get some air, be free.

I quickly hopped into the Porsche and disabled the tracker. I figured that out already. With that taken care of I sped out of the garage. I had no idea where to go, where I was or anything. I'd use GPS to get me back.

It was still dark out which means I woke up either really early or so late I had slept all day. My moneys on really early.

After an hour of pointless driving I pulled to a stop in the parking lot of a 7-11. I smiled. This is where Steph always got Ben&Jerry's. I opened the glove compartment and found some money and a glock. I'll have to deal with blood sugar later, Plus, I haven't had anything sugary, I'll probably need to.

I hid the gun in the back of my pants and pulled the sweater out of the back seat. I put it on and found that it easily hid the gun. I left the hood down so I didn't look like I was going to rob them and went in.

I came out five minutes later with a pint of Ben&Jerry's Chunky Monkey. Yum. I put it in the passengers seat and started driving back through the route I had used to get here in the first place.

End of Chapter

_R&R Please! Next chapter will be up momentarily. Remember. Flames are accepted as long as you don't just say it sucks. Explain why you don't._

_Thanks_

_Peanut16_


	4. Ask me in Seven Minutes

Chapter4

When the yellow line finally had me outside the building I used the key thingy like Ranger had done and pointed it at it and pushed it. The gate lifted. I drove in and parked the car in it's original spot. No sooner had I gotten out of the car that someone shut the door and leaned around against me. Ranger. He didn't move. "Where have you been?"

I raised my bag. "Out." I said biting my bottom lip. He made me nervous, and after that little break down I had, then what he saw when I was sleeping obviously, I was slightly embarrassed.

He sighed and looked me over. "You scared us when you left like that. You okay?"

"Never better."

He gave me the 'Yeah right' look and pulled me with him into the elevator. He hit the seven button and used the key thingy to get us up. He looked less angry, more worried now. I guess it was mean of me to leave like that, no trace and take so long. In my defense, I was really upset. I wasn't thinking strait.

The elevator binged and he once again pulled me out and into his apartment. After relocking the doors he shoved me onto the couch. I promptly stood and walked towards the kitchen. I needed a spoon. He looked like he was going to pull me back down so I shot him a look which made him stop.

With my spoon I return to the living room and sat on the couch with my feet under me. "So...What do you want?" I asked a little more self assured.

He gave a little defeated sigh and looked back up with a more serious and less angry face. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Nope."

"Cara." He sighed.

I decided to intervene. "Ranger..I'm okay. I had a nightmare and I just...freaked. I needed to get some air. I'm sorry I stole your car and some money but..I couldn't be in here right then. I'm really sorry.

"It's okay." He said on another sigh.

"I need ID." He looked up at me puzzled. "Remember. You found me in the middle of the road. I have no money and no ID. Do you know where I can get some?"

"I'll need the info that goes on it." Oh. Right.

"I'll write it down." He left the room for a minute then cam back in with a pen and pad. I took the pen and started writing it out in my fancy writing. I have good handwriting.

Birthday: April 23, 1986

Age: 21

Brown hair, hazel eyes.

5 foot 7 inches

I handed the pad back, don't think it needs to say I'm diabetic... I had to do quick math to make me 21. It's 2007 so...1986 would make me 21. He probably can get me a picture from the camera's he has around.

I looked up at him and he turned and left. Whatever.

_Ranger's POV_

I looked at the information. She looks like she's 21 but I know she isn't. She said going home everyday. She'd probably like 19 or so. I went down to the 5th floor and went to brian giving him instructions to make an ID with the picture I pulled up on the screen. He looked weary but did as he was told.

I checked on the progress of thing and did some paperwork for an hour until Brian came in and gave me the ID. I thanked him and logged off the computer before heading up to my apartment.

_Cara's POV_

He came up an hour later and handed me my ID. I looked it over. Good. "When do you want me to start work?"

"I was going to show you how to run the programs this morning. Still interested?"

"Absolutely." Anything to EARN money.

"Get changed into the RangeMan uniform."

I nodded and headed for the bathroom. I took a short shower and changed quickly into the outfit. Still looked nice. I walked back out and he silently led me down to the 5th floor. My breath caught and I froze before getting out of the elevator when I saw all the big men were working at computers. Ranger stepped out but turned back when he noticed I wasn't with him.

I looked at him, wide-eyed and quivering. I took a step farther back into the elevator shaking my head slightly. No way was I going out there unarmed. No freaking way. I worked with Him, Lester, Bobby and Tank, barely. I had to trust the one gender that I didn't. Men, I don't trust them. It's because of him too. Jon.

He sighed and walked back towards me. He pulled his gun out of his holster and held it out to me. I looked from it to him then took it and checked to make sure it wasn't the one loaded with blanks. Nope, real rounds. I slid it in the back of my pants and kept my right hand slightly behind me, ready. He lead me to a cubicle and sat me down.

He proceeded to explain how everything worked.

An hour later he left me to my work. With a sigh I did.

I worked non-stop until Ranger popped his head back into my cubicle. "You ready to come back up?"

"Huh?" So...graceful.

"It's six-thirty. You coming up? Ella's bringing dinner up in fifteen minutes."

"Oh, um,. Okay. I guess I lost track of time." I looked back at my in-box. Empty. Hmm. I logged off and followed him to the elevator. When we got to the top floor I went to the bathroom, then came back out to see who I assumed to be Ella setting tray's of food on the table. Maybe-

I was cut out of my train of thought when Ranger started talking to me. "You gonna sit down?" He was already sitting.

"Yeah." Wow, I'm really out of it today.

We had chicken with vegetables, mmmmmm. It's was awesome. Now, sleeping issues. That could be a little difficult. Better take a jump in. I mean, I didn't want to sleep in his bed anyways.

"Cara?"

"What?"

"We have studio apartments here open to employee's. There's one free if you'd like."

"That'd be great." Better than the couch too.

He nodded. "Also, you're being assigned a company car. It's an SUV."

"Thank you. It's really nice of you to help me out."

"My pleasure, you'll be a great asset to this company. I have a couple questions for you though."

"Okay. Shoot."

"Did you give me false information for the ID?"

"Yes."

"How old are you really?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Time."

"Why?"

"What time is it?" I countered.

"Seven fifteen."

I thought for a second. I was born at seven-thirty two. "Ask me that in seven minutes."

"Okay. What do you remember from before you were on the road?"

"I was logging off my computer."

"Okay."

"Where's the apartment?" I asked him to change the subject.

"4th floor. I'll show you. " He started leading me to the elevator and then continued. "You'll have to wear the RangeMan uniform everyday to work. Everybody else does too."

He got off the elevator and I followed him down the hall. He stopped and turned to me. "This is the pass-card. It'll get you in the building and into this room." He handed me a card then held out a key chain with a little dohicky on it. "This is the key to my apartment on the seventh floor. If you need anything. I'll be there or in my office." He paused as I accepted the key, then smiled. "Night."

"Night" I opened the door but stopped and turned back. "Hey Ranger!" I called after him.

He turned back and I nodded. "Tanks again. I really appreciate this."

He nodded as well and left. I went in and settled down for the night, not much to do but... I looked at the clock in the apartment. Seven minutes.

"Happy 18th birthday." I said to the empty apartment.

There was the sound of a phone ringing. I looked around and found it on the counter. "Hello?" I answered cautiously.

"How old are you?" I had to smile. It was Ranger, he remembered.

"Just turned 18." I said with a smile.

"Congrats." And the line went dead. I hung up and headed for the bedroom. There was a pair of sweats and some more clean clothes on the bed. I changed into just my t-shirt and panties then set the alarm and dropped into bed, on my back, looked at the ceiling.

I'm now eighteen. I sighed. I have an ID, now all I had to do is wait until I got my paycheck. I needed money badly. I shouldn't of gone this long without a test kit to test my blood sugar as it was.

The alarm rang and I turned it off but obliged and got up and showered, then dressed and managed to find some food in the fridge. Yum. I had an apple.

I locked the door behind me and headed to the elevator. Pushing 5 I waited for the doors to open with my back to the wall, arms crossed and best blank face in place. They opened and I headed to my cubicle, fully aware of the looks I was getting, I had on the RangeMan attire like told but had added the gun that he didn't take beck. I liked the utility and the small feeling of security I had with it. They probably wouldn't challenge me anyways, I mean, most of them saw me beat Ranger but the rest had defiantly heard about it. For sure.

I sat at my desk and continued to work on clearing out my in-box.

:D

_R&R Please!! Feed back will help this story continue. I've got some ideas but I just have to write them down now._

_Thanks_

_Peanut16_


	5. Diabetic, Duh!

Chapter5

I had just finished clearing out the last file and I looked at the clock. 8:45pm. Wow, hmm. I logged off and headed up to the 4th floor. When I got off the elevator I walked down the hallway to 4b, my apartment. I set the keys I carried with me on the counter and my gun next to it. I only had to wait three more days until my paycheck came in.

I stripped and hopped into the shower.

When I was pruney I got into the sweats and t-shirt that Ranger had given me. They had the Rangeman logo on the left pant leg and across the left breast. Whatever.

I flopped down onto the bed face first and fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up it was to the annoying beep of the alarm clock. It said that it was five-am. I needed to run and practice with y gun and do, well, anything outside of this building. I rolled out of bed and pulled my hair into a carefree ponytail. I didn't even change, this would work for exercise. With my gun and keys I headed out.

I had no problems until I stepped into the garage. Ranger came around the corner and stood like a wall in front of me. "Where are you going?"

"Out running, exercise. Don't tell me you've never heard of it." I said sarcastically.

"Cara. There's a gym and gun range in the building. You don't need to leave the building."

"Part of the reason I'm leaving is because I need to get away from all of you. To much testosterone in here anyways."

His lips tipped up a little. I took a step away and started walking around him. He caught my upper arm and I did as usual and jerked away until I was at least two feet away. "I swear to god Ranger. Let me go, or I will run and not come back."

"Yes you will."

"No. I. Wont."

"Where will you go?"

"Anywhere. Anywhere but here." With that I started jogging away from him. He caught up and stepped into pace next to me. "What are you doing?" I asked not even looking at him.

"Running with you."

I sighed and picked up the pace a little. He did the same. My turn to have a little fun. Ranger was wearing big boots and I was wearing sneakers, much easier to run in. Plus, I needed my space.

I broke out into a fully loaded run as if I was going to go off the vault. (Gymnastics) I didn't look back but I could hear him behind me, not catching up but pretty close.

I kept an eye out for anything that looked like a gym, shouldn't be to hard to find.

After running like that for fifteen minutes, Ranger was no closer to catching me (he had started to sweat a little, point for me) I saw a building easily identified as a gym. There were clear glass windows to the two story window, you could see people doing yoga and others on various pieces of machinery. I slowed to a jog and then walked in.

"Hello how may I help you?"

"Can I see the information you have for membership cards?"

"Sure." She ruffled around a little. "Here you go." She said cheerfully.

I took the info packets and sat down in one of the chairs. The door gingled and Ranger entered looking absolutely pissed. He stood in front of me and I smiled at him. "Hi. How was your run?"

The muscle in his jaw twitched and he reached for my forearms. Not gonna happen. I pulled my feet up and pressed them to his chest quickly. He stumbled backwards but recovered and locked eyes with me again. He looked murderous now. My bad. Not.

"Cara."

"Ranger." I countered with a more happy/funny tone. I was trying not to laugh. "I told you I was leaving, now, as you already know. I can take care of my self."

Nothing. He said nothing. I rolled my eyes. "Okay, here's the simple version. Piss off." With that I continued looking at the papers she had given me.

Simple membership: Free for 30 days

Membership Plus: $10 a month

Premium Membership: $100 a year

I read the description of each and decided that for now the free would have to do. I stood up and noticed that my vision was slightly blurry at the edges. I blew it off and continued to the front desk.

Here's the problem. Having diabetes, I know that I'm supposed to check my blood sugar twice a day at least, but when it comes to excersizing I'm supposed to test it half an hour before I start and then right before I start. You compare the levels and with that you can tell if it's getting higher, lower or not changing. I always have to test after but, I hadn't exercised since the day I was at my computer. Whatever day that was. Hmm, what day is it today...

"Ma'am?"

"Oh, sorry. I'd like a simple membership, trial please."

"Okay." She nodded and I gave her a few false info's and took the card she gave me. I turned around and almost walked into Ranger. He was that close. "Hi."

"Are you done yet?"

"Yep." He grabbed my arm somewhat gently and dragged me outside to a black SUV. He opened the back door and shoved me in, then slammed the door shut before getting in the passenger side and slamming the door as well. "Geez."

He turned and gave me a look that made me shut up. He turned back around and the car started. The whole ride was silent but I could see the driver and Ranger glancing back at me the whole way.

Ranger opened my door when we parked and once again dragged me out and into the elevator. The driver got in as well. "Why are you treating me like a kid. I'm not in danger by going out? And it's not like you have any power over me."

"We're only treating you like a kid because your acting like a kid. You need to think before you act. Like when you ran out the first time. You should've stayed in and we would of talked about it."

"I wasn't running out to go calm down. I was going out to go run. Work out! I told you that! Your the one who chased me all the way there."

"Cara. You don't even know what state your in. Remember?"

I looked down. "I'm pretty sure I know more about anything than you think." I mumbled. I know what it says in the books.

In an instant he pinned me to the elevator wall and had my eyes up to meet his serious gaze. It was a blank face but I could tell he was serious.

"Cara. What do you know that your not telling me?"

I took a deep breath but didn't say anything. My vision was becoming more cobwebby, so I shook it then blinked a few times. It helped slightly. Is it just me or is it really cold. I shifted uncomfortably but was saved from answering when the door opened. The driver left and I tried to get out from under him but he simply keyed it up to seventh floor while keeping me pinned to the wall.

I yawned suddenly tied. "Cara. What are you not telling me?" He asked more forcefully.

"That we're in Trenton New Jersey and that the last thing I remember I was logging off my computer in Maine." I managed to get out between yawns. I started thinking...fatigue, confusion, being cold and blurred vision, the classic symptoms of low blood sugar. I swallowed all the siliva in my mouth before speaking. "Ranger..."

"No Cara. Shut up." He said bluntly.

"You don't...understand."

"No, I don't. Why don't you enlighten me?" He was still talking about lying, I really needed something sugary and my home test kit. I shouldn't of gone running. It was stupid, but I really needed to get out.

"Not...that...I need... something sugary."

"What?" He said turning to me angrily. The doors opened and he took the time to pull me away from the wall. I stumbled a bit but he caught me and stood me back up, then pushed me into the apartment (after unlocking it of course.)

I hit my knees and slumped down a bit. The last time I had low blood sugar this bad was when I forgot to take the test and had absolutely no sugar for an entire day, then did PE. We were doing the Pacer Test (You run from one side of the gym and then back, when the tape beeps), I was on my sixth lap when I got really dizzy and passed out.

I came back to reality when someone (probably Ranger) put a hand on my arm and started pulling me up. My legs wouldn't support me and I slumped right back down to the ground.

This might of clued him in, but he sure didn't show it. "Cara, get up." He said and started to pull me up again.

I used all my strength to push him off me. "Ranger!" I cried out pulling away from him. "I need something sugary." I insisted.

"Why?"

"Just..please, get me..." Not going to happen without telling him. "Never...mind." I scooted backwards into the kitchen, I probably looked really stupid, hell, I felt stupid, but I desperately needed sugar.

I opened the fridge and stood up, leaning against it for support. I started rummaging through it, lettuce, milk, water, water, more water, carrots, apples...

I gave a frustrated sigh and slammed the door shut, then used the counter for support as I looked trough all the cabinets. I almost cried when I saw the little sugar container by the tea bags. I grabbed the container and a glass from another cabinet and mixed some water with sugar and chugged it. I could feel it running through my system like adrenaline. I drank another full glass and waited with my head down, leaning on the counter taking deep breaths.

"Cara? What going on?"

I waved my hand, unable to speak.

After a couple minutes the shaking stopped and I stood up strait. Finding that I could hold myself, I turned around and stared at him.

"What is going on?" He repeated.

I took a deep breath. Now or never. "Hypoglycemic State." I said matter-of-factly with my head down, then pushed off the counter, stumbled a bit but stood and started walking towards the front door.

I reached for the handle when he called. "Wait."

I let my hand fall down to my side. "What." Not a question on my part. He was harassing me, I was going into and was in a Hypoglycemic State, and he was harassing me. Ugh, men.

"Low Blood Sugar? Your diabetic?"

"Yes." Okay he know, I can go now. Right?

Wrong.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tried to tell you I needed sugar, you just asked questions. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go take a shower and get to work. I don't want to be late." I opened the door and went straight to the fourth floor. I stripped and got in the shower bracing myself under the spray.

I held myself under the spray with my arms on either side of the stall, for about fifteen minutes before shampoo and conditioning. I dried off and dressed for work, then added the belt and gun, along with my boots and a half assed ponytail. All dressed and physically ready I locked the door behind me and walked down the hall into the elevator. The ride to the fifth floor seamed like eternity.

I walked across the room and into my cubicle. With my computer booted up, I pushed thoughts of earlier aside and started working on the files.

My inbox was more than half empty before my stomach growled. The clock said it was lunch time (Sometime past noon) so I shut the computer down and headed to the break room.

I grabbed a sandwich and a paper cup. Instead of getting coffee I filled it with water and started looking through the cabinets. They were stocked with different healthy crackers and other little snacks. I looked through all the cabinets above and started looking through the cabinets below when someone spoke. "Looking for something?"

I turned around and found a big man, the driver non the less, standing behind me. "Yeah." I said shyly stepping back a little bit. Nervous? No. Yes. Maybe, whatever.

"Can I help with finding it? What is it?"

"I need the sugar." I said quietly, why do I become so nervous? When did I become so nervous? Jon. Jerk.

He smiled at me and opened the second cabinet on the right (bottom) and pulled out another little container of sugar. I took it and mumbled thanks.

"No problem. My names Lester. Whats yours?" He did look a lot like the character Janet described. He is hot.

"Cara. But you already knew that. You were in the gym when I sparred with Ranger."

His smile widened. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I remember seeing you there." I admitted and turned around. I spooned a generous amount of sugar into the glass and stirred it.

"You remind me of Steph. She loves sugar, any way she could get it." I stopped and looked at him.

"What happened to her?" Oh god, tell me she's not dead.

"Nothing happened to her. She married Morelli." Morelli's name came out more as an evil growl.

"Don't like Joe now do ya?" I regretted it as soon as it came out. He didn't call him Joe.

"Know him?"

"No." I said quickly." Just heard someone call him that. Joe Morelli."

"Oh." He said dumbfounded. I started drinking the sugar water but stopped when I saw the look he was giving me. "Excuse my bluntness but, are you diabetic? I mean, you looked like you were going into a Hypoglycemic State in the elevator, but I mean..."

"Yes. That obvious?"

"No, it's just..." He looked around. "I'm a diabetic also."

My turn to be dumbfounded. "Oh." I tipped the glass back and drank the rest of it then set the glass in the sink. "Don't tell anybody please. It's not something I share."

"I wont. Don't tell anybody about me. "

"Will do. Bye." He said bye as well and I started walking off. I got to the door way before he spoke again.

"Did Ranger ever catch on that something was wrong?"

I turned back to him with a sad smile. "Not really. I just crawled to the fridge trying to find the sugar. After I found it and all he asked what was going on, I told him and left."

"For someone who is always 'aware of his surroundings' he sure as hell is a dic." Ranger chose this time to make his presence known. He had stepped into the doorway when Lester was saying something about being aware of his surroundings.

"Santos." Lester froze.

"Yes boss." He replied without turning back to face him.

"Back to work." Lester nodded and walked off giving me a small nod and avoiding Ranger's eyes.

I was quite upset with Ranger right now, Lester was right, he is a dic. I took the big girl measure and started to leave and not fight with him but he stuck his arm out in front of me blocking the way.

"Cara..." He sighed. "For what it's worth...I'm sorry. I should've listened, you just caught me off guard saying that you knew more than I thought." He paused and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "This is for you."

I took it from him. $10,000 addressed to a Cara Summerland from RangeMan. I looked up at him. "What for?"

"The distraction Job. I meant to give it to you earlier but you didn't have anyone to address it to. Summerland is the same last name thats on your ID. You can cash it at any bank or you can make an account and put some in it. I suggest making an account, that way we can send your paychecks there."

"Okay. Thanks." I said ducking my head and attempting to go to my desk. Again he stopped me and pressed me a little tighter to the counter. He lifted up my chin with his pinter finger and thumb. He looked me dead in the eye before speaking, showing that he was serious.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine." When he made no move to let me go I resisted the urge to growl and settled for demanding. "Please let me go."

He released me and I fixed my clothes and headed to the elevator. I needed to go shopping. I got into my SUV and programmed the GPS to bring me to the Bank.

An hour later I was parked outside the mall, I had $5,000 in the bank and the rest in my pocket.

The first stop was the pharmacy. I found a home testing kit and extra strips, then got a bottle of advil. With the job I have now, I have the strangest feeling that I'm gonna need it.

Next I hit Macys and found a new pair of sneakers, three pairs of black work out pants, a black tank top, a dark brown tank top and a dark blue tank top. Then I got two pairs of brown cargo pants, two cami colored and two more black pairs. I hightailed to the makeup department and got some eyeshadow, mascara, consealer, blush and lip gloss. Next stop Victoria Secret.

I came out with three pairs of boyshorts, six new bra's and three pairs of sexy green underwear. The next stop was the electronic store, I may be all trained and shy, but I'm still a teen. I found Game Stop and got a Play Station 2 and some games, driver2, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and Sims2 Pets. I, next, slipped into Boarders and bought a whole bunch of books, the weird thing is, there was nobody name Janet Evanovich. Strange. I bought a stack of magazines, from Teen People too T.V. Guide. Johnny Depp was on the cover of one of the T.V. Guides!

Satisfied with my purchases, I loaded all the bags into the SUV and programmed it to help me find a gun store.

When I pulled up at the store (Sunny's is what the sigh said) I went in and got two knifes, a pair of cuffs, pepper spray, a stun gun and two guns. A sig saucer nine and a .45. Awesome. Next stop, a permission to carry, and register them.

It only cost $5 to have permission to carry and it took no time at all to fill out the forms with my false information. They'd never know.

With a sigh I got back into the SUV and headed back to RangeMan. I will wear the uniform but I plan on wearing some color. Brown, cami, green. He can deal, that pig headed dic brain. Okay, I'm a little out of control. Deep breaths...in...out...in...out.

I pulled into the RangeMan garage and parked in the same spot I found it in. I loaded into the elevator with all my bags and pushed four with my elbow. When the door binged open I went down the hall to my room and set the bags on the ground between my legs while I keyed it open. I swung it open and pushed my bags in, while grabbing my gun. Somebody was here, I could feel it.

With the door shut and locked I started a sweep, keeping my back to the wall the wall the entire way. I came around the corner from the kitchen to the living room and there was Ranger sitting there, looking comfortable. He was sitting on the chair, back to the wall facing me. I kept my gun pointed at him then sighed and switched the safety on and lowered it. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you."

"Why?"

"You left. You've been gone for three hours. Looks like you went on a shopping spree."

"Yes. Do you need something. I'm back, alive and I'll work overtime tomorrow to make up for what I missed today but there were some things I needed to make it through another day."

"Thats okay. I brought food, thought you might be hungry." Change of topic, wow.

"Starving." Can't be mad at him forever.

He got up and walked into the kitchen, then opened the fridge and pulled out a bag. "You like chinese?"

"Yep." I said with a growing smile, it's only my favorite food. His lips tipped up into a half smile and he started opening the bag and putting the little cartons in the microwave.

Meanwhile, I grabbed all my bags and dumped them on my bed, then unpacked everything but took the pharmacy bag and brought it into the bathroom where it was private, unfortunately I didn't shut the door.

Ranger walked in when I was pricking myself with the strip. I looked up at him and we stared at each other for a second until the little thingy beeped and I looked down at the reading. It was pretty normal so I threw the strip in the trash and popped the little blue machine into the case with the rest of the stuff then put the whole case into the open up mirror over the sink.

I turned and looked at him. "Is it ready?"

"Yes." He said then shook his head lightly and led me out to the kitchen. There was two plates on the counter with food shoveled onto each. I grabbed a plate as did he and we sat on the couch. He flicked the t.v. on and settled on a basketball game. We ate in relative silence, There was something he wanted to tell me, he wouldn't come by for nothing.

"Why did you really come here?" I asked while he was cleaning the dishes. Weird.

"I've got another job for you if your interested." He replied turning back to face me.

"Distraction?"

"Yes."

"Who, When and Where?"

"Luis Freeman. 45 years old, busted for gun running. He's FTA."

"Okay, like before?"

"Yes, just...try not to punch him."

I blushed. "Yeah, sorry.

"Don't be sorry."

"What ever. When and where?"

"Meet me in the garage at 10:00pm. That gives you four hours to get ready."

"Okay."

He nodded at me and disappeared through the door. With a sigh I got up and stripped. I showered, let nature run it's course on the toilet, slid into the same outfit I wore last time but added make up. With a couple extra layers of mascara I spun in the mirror and added utilarary. A gun at my thigh and a knife in the middle of my back where I could reach it.

The clock said I had five minutes to be in the garage so I grabbed my little purse and left, locking the door behind me. I rode the elevator down to the garage, all my nerves were shot and I was nervous as hell. With a deep breath I awaited for the doors to open then walked as calmly as possible into the garage to meet with the rest of the team.

_Will be continued shortly. R&R._

_Peanut16_


	6. Another Destraction

_**This is for you Akasha617 and Raintree7, for the continued support on this story:D**_

_**Enjoy.**_

**Chapter 6**

There were a bunch of the big men standing around the cars when I entered the garage. Ranger had his back to me, but most of the guys looked straight at me, pinning me to my space, so he turned and looked at me, urging me to go over. Is it getting hot in here? I could feel the blush creeping up my cheeks so I touched the knife at my back before continuing forwards. I squared my shoulders and stood beside Ranger. He did introductions for me. From the left of me. "Lester, Bobby, Tank, Hal, Cal and Hector."

I took a tiny step back keeping my eyes focused on them. I knew some of them, but was the extra really necessary? "Ready?" Ranger asked.

I looked up at him. I can not trust these guys. I don't know them. "Yeah." I said giving up. He wasn't getting it. He led me to the Bronco and I got in shotgun. The others split into two different SUV's.

He rolled the engine over and shot out of the garage. After about five minutes of silence, he broke it. "You okay?"

"Huh? Yeah." I answered looking over at him.

He glanced at me. "You can trust them. You'll be fine."

"You know them." I mumbled to myself.

"Look, I wouldn't send you in there with back up I was sure would protect you."

"I don't need to be protected." I argued.

"It's for safety. Your and the skips."

"Fine." I don't know where the argument came from... huh.

The rest of the drive was silent. When he pulled up at the bar, he got out the box with the wire and receiver. Again, I snatched it and started to secure it. I noticed him staring at me. "Guys don't stick there hand down my shirt." I said simply and hopped out.

With a deep breath I opened the doors to the bar. Loud, smelly. Ick. The skip was on the dance floor. He was surrounded by women. Lots and lots of women. Shit, competition. "Problem." I said into my cleavage.

"You'll get his attention Cara." Lester.

"Yeah right. Lester. Do you see this guy? He's surrounded by these...sluts."

"Exactly why you'll get his attention. You look way better than a slut. Trust me." I scanned the room and saw Lester leaning against the wall looking at me.

"Great." I mumbled.

I got a little closer and started dancing. See here's the thing. Guys don't like it when pretty ladies dance alone. After half an hour of dancing, I had fended off at least thirty different guys. This time the skip started dancing with me. I gave him a flirty smile and made sure my knife was hidden.

"Hey baby." I forced myself to keep dancing. Thats what Jon called me.

"Hey." Seductive?

I danced with him for another ten minutes. By now he had migrated, he had his hands splayed across my hips and was grinding into me. He had his lips on my neck and was whispering something to me. I tuned in. "...I buy you a drink?"

"Sure."

He kissed my neck and started dragging me off the dance floor towards the bar. He sat down and pulled me down next to him. "Vodka and coke" He ordered then turned to me. "What would you like?"

"Same." Shit! What do I do????

"And one for the nice lady here too. Put it on my tab."

A minute later the bartender slid one in front of each of us. I picked it up and looked at him as I sipped it.

There was a growl in my ear. "Cara." Oops, Ranger's mad.

"So, what do you do?" I asked once I put my glass down.

"I package things for people." Like guns.

"Ooh. Interesting."

"Yeah." He scanned me up and down. "You wanna go to my place? I can show you more about it."

"Love too." Die.

He downed his glass and stood up. I took the hand he offered and he pulled me towards the door. He stopped at the door and spun me around. "I though it was at your house?" I squeaked.

"Close enough." He whispered then pressed his lips to mine. I whimpered against his lips. It was just like that night. In the ally.

"No, stop please."

"Come on baby." He said pressing himself tighter against me and kissing me once again. I saw Lester out of the corner of my eye. He looked ready to kill. I could feel the tears well up behind my eyes. It's not that night. Thats over and done with. Different. Shit.

Images of Jon flashed in front of my eyes and I slid my hand between the door and my back and pulled out my knife. I put it under his chin. He pulled back a little. I started walking forwards. "It's not polite to kiss a lady without permission." I said then flipped him around and pulled his hand behind my head. Lester came closer and cuffed him. "Thanks." I whispered. Lester nodded and took the skip out.

I turned on heal and went back into the bar. I ordered another Vodka and coke and gave him a couple bills. I picked up the glass and someone took it from me. I looked up and Ranger was holding my glass.

"Give it back."

"No." He said and set the glass down. He grabbed my arm and started pulling me up. I jerked out of his grip.

"Don't touch me." I sat back down on a stool farther away and put my arms up on the bar, resting my head on them. Deep breaths.

After a couple minutes someone put their hand on my shoulder. I stiffened and the hand disapeared. "Cara?"

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. "Lester?"

I looked up and he sat down next to me. I looked to my other side my vodka and Coke was gone. Huge sigh.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Peachy-keen."

"Right." There was a pause. "You might want to take off the wire."

"Oh yeah." I said dryly. I popped out the receiver and put my hand under my shirt to grab the wire. I peeled it off and set it next to the receiver. Lester scooped them both up and put them in is pocket.

"You did good out there."

"Doesn't feel like it." I said shivering at the thought of how he was holding me. The tears pricked my eyes again and I waved the bartender over. "A beer please." I ordered.

"Make it two." Lester said from beside me. I looked over at him and he smiled at me then gave the guy a few dollars.

"Thanks." I said taking my beer. I took a long pull off of it. Not that bad. Probably souldn't be drinking, but that guy burnt me. Yuck. I could still feel his lips. I shivered again.

"I take it you don't like being put in situations like that."

"Not where he...gets intamite..like that. He smells."

"Don't doubt it." He took another pull of his beer then set it down and stood up, offering his hand. "Would you care to dance?"

I smiled a genuine smile. "I'd love to." I like Lester, I though as he pulled me towards the dance floor.

Lester can dance. And, the good news is, he doesn't smell. His hands were soft and gentle on my hips, unlike the skips. We were in a similar position to earlier, just I was actually happy.

We went back to the bar and finished our beers. "I'll take you back to RangeMan." Lester told me.

"Why? I'm not drunk?"

"No, but you are stranded. They left already. Ranger wasn't happy. What'd you do to piss him off anyways?"

"He took away my drink then started picking me up. I told him not to touch me."

He seemed to think about it for a sec. "Oh."

He opened the doors and the cold air hit me like a brick wall. There was a tingly feeling that someone was watching me. I looked around. Seeing nobody I got shot gun of the SUV.

Silence was boring. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem." He said looking over at me and smiling. I smiled too. Geez. I'm going soft.

When I got into my apartment I immediately stripped and hit the shower. I had the water on scolding hot to get the germs of the skip off. Then I sat down and cried. It was time for it. Lester was great, but it was just a distraction until now. Now, the memories flooded back, hitting me head on, like a mac truck.

Afterwards I toweled off and checked my blood sugar. Being fine was weird but...okay. I changed into my PJ's and slid into bed. Sleep should get rid of today's memories. Right?

**Don't kill me please:D How was it? I had to make her drink some.**

**R&R Please!:D**

**Peanut**


	7. Reliving a Memory and Getting Caught

**Chapter 7**

I sat bolt upright and tried to cover up my scream. I was shaking from the dream. It was like reliving that night again. You'd think I'd of have lived it enough.

I wasn't alone. I had the weird feeling, so I looked around and saw a shadow in the corner. "Ranger?"

I was about to say it again when something wet dripped out of my nose. I wiped my nose with the back of my hand. Blood. Shit. I grabbed my knife off of the end table and held it like I would attack, but with it at my side. (Pointing away from me)

I stepped of the bed, facing him the whole way. "Speak." I commanded. When there was nothing. I let out an aggravated sigh, "Cut the mystery shit and show yourself asshole." Okay, so I was a little angry. My nose was bleeding and I really needed to know that I could go get a tissue without being killed. "Fuck it." I said on a sigh.

Maybe there wasn't anyone there?...

"I grabbed my gun with the other hand and clicked the safety off then raised it and shot about two inches where his head was. I saw the figure duck and swear. I couldn't see him for a sec, then he popped back up in front of me and took away the gun. When he reached for the knife, I flipped it in my hand and held it ready, I stepped back towards the light.

I flicked it on and there was a big man in the doorway. Tank. "Tank? What the fuck are you doing?"

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to alarm you. I was just instructed to come make sure you were okay. The camera's in the hallway heard screaming."

Well, shit, thats embarresed. I looked down and edged back a little. "No, I'm fine."

"Your nose is bleeding."

"Yeah, I got that." I said as I wiped my nose with the back of my hand again.

He looked at me skeptically. "You sure your okay?"

"Yeah." I said quietly. I noticed that I was still holding my knife so I tucked it into the back of my sweat pants and headed into the bathroom. I grabbed a small wad of toilet paper and placed it against my nose and tilted my head down. Never tilt it back.

I walked back into my room and walked into a wall. Damn it. Large hands settled on my forearms and steadied me. I instantly jerked back and bumped into a real wall behind me.

I took a calming breath and looked back up at him. He look genuinely concerned. "You sure?"

"Uh, yeah, I just had a bad dream. I'm sorry you had to come down here. I'm fine really."

_Tanks POV_

She was really shaken up, but she insisted she was fine so there was nothing I could do. I nodded good bye and left, locking up behind me. I stopped at the control room where Lester was. I knew he liked her, you could see it in his eyes. He was the one who caught it, he heard her screaming and called me, he was more frantic then necessary, but...I can understand why. Any time somebody touched her she freaks, she has a very short tension string and gets antsy around us. I remember her punching that first guy at the bar. I watched him slide his hand onto her thigh, she's really pretty but has a hell of a right hook. He flung backwards on the stool and she jumped up. She was shaking but she tried to make it seem like she was sorry. He fell for it. After though, she just melted into the shadows. Eyes wide, slid backwards. Ranger brought her back here.

"Lester."

He jumped and turned around looking at me expectantly. "How is she? Is she okay? I mean..."

"She says she fine. You should go talk to her in the morning. She almost shot me." I told him.

He asked more questions and I ended up giving him a run down of how I walked in and she sat up and had screamed. She had shot at me after trying to get me to talk. I still don't know why I didn't speak up when she asked (Or demanded) me too.

Lester was going to talk to her in the morning. Until then, I would have to talk to Ranger about this. If she was having a nightmare, he might want to know, it could affect her ability to do the job.

_Back To Cara's POV_

Fuck this. I tossed the tissue in the trash and decided to check my blood sugar now. It was high, not horribly, but I knew better than to let it get this high and go to bed. Probably wouldn't get to sleep anyways.

I changed into my work out outfit and headed to the gym. I wasn't going out of the building today. I added my gun to the small of my back and a knife in the holster and placed it in my boot.

When I entered, I found it empty. I knew there were camera's but I could deal. I kicked off my boots and set my knife and gun by them, then set my sweat shit down by those. With a sigh I looked around again and headed to the most springy mat. It would do. The one thing I could do to relax my nerves and help my blood sugar was to do gymnastics. I love gymnastics, I had been doing it since I was six.

I was wearing a gymnastics one piercers, (The ones that looks like bathing suit) with black stretchy pants over them. I started by stretching out all my muscles and doing the splits.

I walked onto the mats and did a hand stand, pointed toes. _Okay good, I can do this, it's just like practicing in the gym near my house, just with a bunch of big men at the monitors..._ I repeated as I stepped back into a corner and bounced a little. Cool. The mat did have a lot of spring in it. I ran forwards and bounced into a row of two front flips that ended with a double twisting flip. I landed it and just by habit threw my hands up and back straitened. The ending pose.

After practicing a few more of my routines, I was getting into it a lot more. I slid off my pants and tossed them into the pile and with a smile I hopped back onto the mat corner. I felt alone, not hollow alone, but like I was actually alone in here, no one watching me.

I stared at the mat for a second remembering something from _Bring it On. _The flip they asked Missy to do. I repeated it in my head. _Front handspring, step out, round off, back handspring, step out, round off back handspring, full twisting lay out. _

I did it perfectly. I had just landed when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I froze and looked over. Ranger and Lester were in the corner. I stumbled backwards and very quickly slipped on my pants and sweater. I slid the gun on and was sliding my boots on when I realized they were right in front of me. I could feel the blush creeping up my cheeks. "Sorry." I muttered.

"Don't be sorry beautiful. That was great." Lester said. I looked up and Ranger had on his blank face, Lester was looking at me like a kid at Christmas time. "Really."

"I didn't notice you guys here. I was just on my way out." I picked up my boots and slid my knife inside and turned away from them. I jogged out and hopped into the elevator.

I don't do gymnastics in front of people. I hate wearing leotards, they make me feel stupid but they are the easiest to move in. They make it easy to swing on bars and jump around. The only part I don't like is when they ride up your butt. Thats why I wear pants over them, especially since I didn't buy any of the spray. We always sprayed it on and it kept them from riding up.

The elevator binged and I jogged down the hall to my room. I started unlocking the door when the door to the stairwell opened and Lester came over to me. "Hey beautiful."

"Hey Lester." I mumbled and finished opening the door. I led him to the couch and went into my bedroom. I shut and locked the door then leaned against it for support.

With a sigh I pushed off and grabbed a quick shower. I dressed in my brown cargo pants and a long sleeved stretchy shirt. I tucked my gun into the back of the pants and my knife into my boot.

**_I had to have that piece on gymnastics because I love gymnastics. I started when I was like...seven? Then stopped the next year because it was _really _expensive, I did it at home and at the local YMCA, but never quit. _**

_**R&R Please**_

_**Peanut**_


	8. The Talk

**The Talk**

I walked back out and sat across from him. "Soooo..."

"It's okay Cara. Really. You don't have to be embarresed, that was great."

I felt the blush creep back up. "Thanks. I don't usually do gymnastics in front of people. I mean, I know there's a camera and all but, you guys just startled me. Didn't know you were there."

"Thats the point beautiful."

I took the time to take in his appearance, black SWAT like Ranger would wear. He must of noticed me looking at him because he spoke. "Like the outfit. Suits you."

"Thanks." I mumbled again. "Would you like something to drink? Water, soda?"

"A water would be great."

I smiled at him and went to the kitchen. I got out two bottles of water and handed one to him. I again, slowly opened the bottle listening carefully for the click.

"You want to talk about it?"

I looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

"I was in the control room. I informed Tank. You were pretty upset. Wanna talk about it?" Wow, silly Lester is gone.

"Nothing to talk about. Just a bad dream." I said knowing that he informed Tank meant that he was the one that heard me screaming. Well, Geez. Embarresed again.

He raised an eyebrow. "Seem to be having a lot of those."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you leave that night after the first skip. You were pretty worked up."

"It was nothing and it still is nothing." I said quietly lowering my head.

He scooted closer to me and used a finger on my chin to bring my face up to his. "It is something. Talk to me about it. I can help you get over it."

"No, thats okay."

He looked me dead in the eye. "No, it's not okay. Talk to me, let me help you out."

With a defeated sigh I slumped my shoulders. "Okay."

"This will be good Cara. Trust me to help you." He said pulling me into a hug. I stiffened but took a deep breath and relaxed more into him. He pulled back and held me at arms length. "You hungry?"

"Always."

"Lets get you fed."

He headed to the kitchen and started to cook something. I would help, but I had no Idea what he was making, let alone how to make it.

I spaced out while he cooked and just thought about where I was.

My conclusion of all thinking was that I needed to run a search. I'd have to do that when I get to work...

"Cara?"

"Huh?"

"Ready?"

"What?"

"Are you ready?"

"For what?" ???

"To eat."

"Oh. Yeah." I shook my head. Huh, guess I did space out.

We both sat and ate breakfast in a comfortable silence. It turned out to be omelets, they had green pepper and ham pieces in them, along with cheese, but thats normal for omelets.

When I was finished I sat back and glanced at my watch. 8:55. Holy shit!

I hopped out of my seat and grabbed my plate, ran it to the sink. "Lester! I have to be at work in five minutes!" I called to him as I put on my boots and added the knife from my boots to my anckel.

By the time I had my gun at the small of my back, one on my thigh and a knife in my boot and on my utilitybelt, it was approaching 8:58. "Leste-" I stopped when he seemed to materialized in front of me. He opened my door and gently nudged me out. Wise ass. He had a smug grin on his face and I just narrowed my eyes and headed down the hall with him.

At 9:00 on the dot, I was at my desk. Score for me! I settled and turned on my computer, ready to start clearing my inbox that is never empty.

Geez.

By lunch I had cleared out my box. Two me, who ever else, goose egg!

Right?...

I logged off and headed to the break-room for lunch. I grabbed a turkey sandwich and some carrots, then a bottle of water, perfect.

I carted the food back to my cubicle and made sure to set it on my desk before logging back on. With a deep breath I gathered up all my courage and opened a search engine. I typed in Jon Weathers, unsure of what I was going to get or what I wanted.

It popped up.

Jon Weathers, age 19, black hair, brown eyes, 5 foot 9 inches. Never been arrested, . (Urg)

I scrolled down father and froze. There was a picture of him, his brown eyes giving the camera a mischievous grin.

He looked just like he had, nothing seemed different about him, the eyes definitely didn't change. I couldn't seem to get my eyes off of him, I was frozen in time, maybe space, but frozen none the less. The eyes, again, they were the same, they were like that night, promising that you'd never forget him, them. The tears built up behind my eyes. Not now. Now wasn't the time.

"Cara?"

I sucked in a breath and my back straitened as I stiffened. The voice was soft and concerned. Lester.

"Yeah?" I managed to croak out.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you...are you okay?"

"Yeah, uh, fine." I stuttered seemingly coming out of space. I fumbled around trying to exit or minamize. I ended up shutting off the screen. "Do you need something?"

"Just coming to see how you are. What were you looking up?"

"Just checking on someone I used to know."

He reached around me and pushed the screen on. The face was on the screen again. And again I did freeze and stiffen. It was like all the air was sucked out of the room.

"Jon...Weathers. Who is he Cara?"

"Just...somebody I knew."

He put a conforting hand on my shoulder and I unconsiously yelped and jumped out of my seat backing into the corner.

Why did I do that!? Urgh!

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." Lester said in a soothing voice, staying back but looking me strait in the eye.

"I-I know. You just surprised me is all." I flicked my eyes to the screen and locked eyes with _him_ again.

"Come on. I think you need to relax."

"Yeah, me too." I said sarcasm now dripping from my voice.

"My type of relaxing may be a bit different, but I have a feeling that your going to kick my ass. Literally."

I nodded and logged off my computer. He still didn't touch me on the way to the elevator.

We stepped out of the elevator onto the floor with my lovely and most favorite gym. Ooh, this is going to be fun.


	9. Relaxing&Admittance

We took up positions on the mat, separate sides of the mat, hands up. For him it was. I stood, as relaxed as I could, waiting for him to attack. If he didn't make the first move, I had gymnastics on my side to make him attack.

I continued waiting and when he did nothing, I took a deep breath and leaned back, building up the power for my move. I leaned forward fast and hard, doing a cartwheel, turning on heal to face my starting point and without waiting, I threw myself into a back handspring. I knew that I would land with my back to him so I waited, when I landed, I instantly dropped to the ground and swiped at his legs. I hit one leg as he tried to jump, realizing last second what I was going to do.

He landed on his side with a thump but did a fancy flipping thing and hopped up. I would of rolled into a handstand or something, I guess I think for gymnastics.

After half an hour more of sparring, I was kicking his ass. I used my gymnastics against him. I could fight, but I used gymnastics to do that. (Remember, I do know how without gymnastics) I blocked his punches and he blocked mine, but I moved somewhat faster than he did.

"You fight dirty." He said jokingly linking an arm around my neck. My smile faded and I froze up again.

Damnit.

He released me and I tried to make it hurt less, for him. "I'm sorry, it wasn't anything you did it's just...complecated."

He had some space between us. "It was something I did to make you freeze, but I understand that it was a natural reaction. Why though? What happened?"

Not going to cry. Nope. No way. Not now. Not after all the work I just did to relax.

I must've been to quiet. "It was him? Jon Weathers? He do something to you to cause your reaction?"

I felt my face relax into a blank face.

"Talk to me Cara. Tell me about it. Remember, you gotta let me help you here."

I looked around. We were still in the gym, there were people around, several people were looking but when I glared they looked away quickly.

"Nows not a good time nor place. I have to get back to work. My inbox is probably full by now." I said and walked off to the elevator. I pressed four and waited for them to open. When they did, I changed my mind and quickly pushed five.

When they opened to the fifth floor, I walked out quickly and found my way to Ranger's office. I knocked. "Come in." He said from within.

I entered and shut the door silently behind me. "Cara." He said nodding. "What can I do for you?"

"Um, Kind of a favor. My inbox is empty...but...I need...can I. I. " I sighed. "Can I have the rest of the day off? I have to go out."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine. Is that okay with you? I mean I just wanted to run it by you."

"It doesn't matter what I say does it?"

"Not really. I was just being nice and coming by before hand." The gyms events flashed quickly through my mind. "I have to go." I turned and practically ran out of his office.

"Cara! Wait!" His voice called after me. I ignored it and ran across the floor to my cubicle, ignoring the looks. I booted up my computer quicker than ever and printed out the results I had for Jon Weathers.

My next stop was the apartment. I ran in and almost ran into Ranger and Lester who seemed to be ready. I had tears running down my cheeks and I was running, not only because I wanted to but out of instinct.

I gaped at them. "Wha?" _What are you doing here? _is what I was trying to say.

"Whats going on Cara?"

"I have to go." I said again and plowed around them, slamming the door shut on the way. I grabbed my extra knife and gun (already had 2 guns and a knife, but...) I had just finished changing into clean black cargos and t-shirt when they finally decided to come in.

"Cara, we wont let you leave." Ranger said forcefully. What was his problem? I didn't do anything, I'm safe, I just want to leave...?

"Why not? Actually, I don't care. You can't stop me." I said and went into the bathroom not bothering to shut the door. I grabbed my test kit and checked it very quickly then slid it and some extra slips into my little backpack. I added a magazine and extra amo. Lots of it. Then I took the search from my pocket and slid it into the bag as well. They say their going to stop me, or not let me leave, yet they're letting me pack a bag?

I zipped it and slung it over one shoulder. "Excuse me." I said as calmly as possible, even with tears brimming at the surface. They were standing shoulder to shoulder blocking the doorway. "Move." I said more forcefully.

"Fuck you two!" I shouted at them and kicked Ranger hard in the shin. He flinched but stayed sturdy. "We aren't going to let you leave." Ranger repeated.

"Why the hell not?"

"Not like this Cara. Just stop for a second and talk to us. Why do you want to leave?"

"Because I do. I have buisiness to take care of."

"Killing someone?"

"Thought about it, but no. I have to go get some answers."

"About what? That guy on the screen? Jon Weathers?" Lester asked. Ranger's eyes flicked to him then back to me.

"Yes."

Ranger tensed. He knew what the jack ass had done.

Lester seemed left out. "What aren't both of you telling me? Why in the world would you freak over him?"

"Because." I stated simply.

"Because why?" He taunted.

"Revenge."

"What did he do in the first place?"

I stared at him for a full minute then spoke very quietly. "He raped me."

His jaw dropped and his face softened. He was going to speak, say something that would be pity. I shifted my bag up higher. "I have to go." And I pushed through them. Neither tried to stop me.

Even as I got in my SUV, once in the garage, and speed out.


	10. Sammy's Lunch House

Chapter 10

I was using GPS to get me out of the state as quick as I can. As soon as I crossed the border into Vermont, I disabled the tracker on the car. I continued driving and thinking about most everything. One thing being why I told Lester. I didn't want to. He didn't need to know, and, I mean, why had I freaked out like that. I just had to get out of there. Not just the GYM or my room, but the whole building. It worked though. I can breath out here, think out here.

All of a sudden, I had a very random thought. Will anybody remember me? I mean, did I end up in a n alternate universe of sorts, or did I just end up in Trenton New Jersey.

My cell rang, taking me of thought. Cell? Damn, I didn't turn it off.

"Yo." I answered, somewhat pissed that I didn't remember to turn it off.

"Cara, don't hang up." Lester said quickly.

"You've got thirty seconds. Convince me why I shouldn't hang up."

There was a pause where he was probably trying to think of what to say. "Cara..."

"Twenty."

"Come back. Don't do something your going to regret."

"I'm not. I just...I need to talk to him."

"I can understand that but..."

"No. You don't understand. You don't know what I went through. What I feel, how I feel! I need...I need, to know if he's alive. I need to know if I'm just going crazy or what, because right now, what you guys don't know is that I know all of you people. Your in a series of books I read, written y Janet evanovich. It's different though. Stephanie is not Married to Morelli, she's still a Bounty hunter and she works with Lula a bunch. I need to know, that I am not crazy and that the books were written, just about real people. I need to know, that I am not going crazy, I need to know that Jon is real, not just the computer real, but real, as in, he really is the one who..he needs to be the one I remember. I have to go."

"No Cara wait! Let me help, remember, you've said twice now that you'll let me help you, let me."

I felt a tear slide down my cheek. "Okay."

"Where can I meet you?"

"I'm pulling into a diner in Rhode island." I looked around and gave him the street name.

"Be there in half an hour." He said and hung up. I shut my phone and turned it off.

I had driven into a random diner off the side of the road. It looked like a mom and pop diner, little sign hung above the door and one by the entry way.

Sammy's Lunch House

I parked and locked up before heading in. The bell on the door jingled when I entered. A few people looked my way, then went back to their own conversation.

There were booths along the windows on either side of the door, going all the way back to the side walls. There was a bar along the wall facing the door, and it was lined with stools. Half of of the stools were empty, it seamed. I went to the right back side and seated myself with my back to the wall. I had a clear shot of the door and entire room from here, plus, nobody could do anything behind my back. I could see all.

The waitress came around sometime later, maybe five minutes or so. I settled with a water.

I kept my eyes trained on the door but strayed a few looks at the waiters and customers, checking to see if I knew anybody.

Doubtful I would.

The bell jingles and I flickered my gaze from the waitress nearby to the door. Lester.

He scanned the room and locked eyes with me. When he headed towards me, I looked out the window to his car. He had brought a very large escape. Probably brought back up as well.

"How are you?" He asked as he seated in front of me.

"How many people did you bring with you?" I asked, avoiding his question.

He didn't answer.

"Jesus Lester. If you wanted to help me then you would've come alone. Don't try and follow me, it's pointless." I said and stood. He stood blocking my path.

"Cara, don't do this. I'll send them back and stay with you. I do want to help you." Lester said looking me directly in the eye. If he was lying he didn't show the signs.

I was silent for a long pause. "Fine. But if I even suspect that they are following you, I will drop you off at the side of the road. In gang territory. You'd fit in there." I was serious too. I knew the perfect gang territory that he'd have trouble in. Not killed, but trouble.

"Okay." He finally said, right before flipping open his cell and having a short conversation with who ever. He assured him to call if there was trouble.

Like me dumping him in gang territory.

I dropped a few bills on the table and left, with Lester hot on my heals. I got in the drivers side and Lester got in the passenger side. Once all buckled I waited for the Escape to leave.

When it didn't turned to Lester. "Dial them and give me the phone." I demanded.

He nodded fractionally and dialed, then handed me the phone.

"Yo."

"Ranger?" Great. "Leave now I will dump Lester out and leave on my own. You wont be able to find me, because once we are in Maine, you guys are in

foreign territory. I know it, you don't."

"No."

"Lester will get ditched, I swear to god, I will leave him here or in gang territory."

He was then silent for a couple more beats. "Fine. Put Lester back on."

"Sorry." I said and disconnected. I shut off his phone and added it to my now turned off cell in my pocket. "What did he give you for tracking?"

Silently, he handed me a small device. I looked at it, then rolled down my window and chucked it at the Escape. It drove off. Finally.

I turned the key the rest of the way and burnt rubber out of the small dirt parking lot.

TBC...

_**Ha ha! There it is, the next chapter. I kinda like writing this one. It's fun, cara's personality is derived from mine. The eyes are mine, I like her eyes, just like mine, ringed with about four different colors!**_

_**Peanut16**_


	11. Hotel, Running&Nightmare Talk

**The Ride**

After about five more minutes of silence and Lester giving me cautious glances, I stopped at a stop light and looked over at him. "What?"

He didn't answer yet, but the light turned green and I drove on. "You want to talk about it?"

"No." He was talking about Jon, yeah, like I'd want to talk to him about him.

"I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Good to know." I replied and stopped at another stop light. We were in town and I couldn't wait for us to get out to the highway, less stopping. I turned in my seat and grabbed at one of my small bags. I set it on Lester's lap. "Find my small case for me." I said and put my hands back on the wheel as the light went green.

I followed the GPS and turned onto an onramp. Finally, I was on the highway, cruising through the passing lane going close to seventy. I glanced over at him, he was still looking through, trying to find it. I reached in and grabbed it out, set it on my lap and put the bag in the back seat. I opened the little case, keeping an eye on the road and flipped through all the CD's I had bought when I went shopping. I picked out Eminem's CD Encore and turned it up.

The fast beat blasted through the speakers. Eminem was calming, he and Panic at the Disco, were awesome songs to do gymnastics to. I was planning on spending some quality time on Maine, some asking questions and some at my old gym. I loved that place. All I had to do was rent it out, and now that I had money I could do that. They have gymnastics equipment, and mats, Lester might like the weight lifting room...

I drove, both of us were starting to move to the beat, me lipping the words. I knew most of the words to the songs, this was one of the CD's I had at my house.

The CD finished as we entered Maine. I decided that it was time for a pit stop now, the ride had been silent, except for the music blasting. We didn't speak, just lost in our own thoughts.

I pulled onto an off ramp. Once in a small town in Kittery (Very bottom of Maine) I pulled into a _Gibbs _gas station. I got out, as did Lester. I locked the car then filled the tank with gas. I went in and went to the bathroom, then grabbed a soda and paid for gas. Lester had gone in the store at the same time as me, so I assumed he bought something and went to the bathroom as well.

I unlocked the car and started it up, but waited for him. I didn't have to wait because as soon as the engine caught he came out and walked across the lot to the SUV. I opened my soda and took a long pull of it. Coke, my soda hero. I grabbed the CD case and put Eminem back in the case, then handed the case to Lester. I liked everything I had in there. "Your choice. I said holding it out to him. His lips tipped up fractionally and he took the case and started flipping through it. Checking that we were both buckled, I pulled onto the road.

The GPS lead me to a nearby on ramp and I hopped back on the Highway.

Lester pulled a CD out of the case and popped it in. It loaded up and I easily identified the CD. He had chosen the Panic at the Disco CD. Very cool.

I continued driving and listening to the music.

Lester had gotten a Mt. Dew at the little gas station, it turns out, so I drank my Coke and he drank his Mt. Dew, as the CD went on and we neared our destination.

My favorite song came on, I write sins not Tragedies, #10, and I couldn't help but feel the large grin spread over my face as I sang along. The song was weird, but I loved it, it was fast beat, and...fun.

The CD only had 13 songs on it and ended as we got within a mile of South Portland. I flipped the GPS off. Thank god. It was annoying. I had eventually silenced it because it telling me where to go was annoying, plus, that way we could listen to the music loud.

I pushed the eject button and added the CD back to the case, then switched the Radio on and flipped it to my favorite radio station. The Q 97.9.

I knew the area well. I lived around here, the memories very...real. I turned off the highway once again and wound my way through the many streets. I think Lester was lost just watching me drive, but I knew what I was doing. I also knew where I wanted to go first.

I have a feeling Lester figured out where I was going too, because he smirked when I parked.

The Maine Mall.

I hopped out and locked up behind me, making sure Lester was already out. The Quaker bridge mall is cool and all, but The Maine Mall, is way bigger and better. I entered through JC Penny and walked strait back until I passed FYE. Then there was a carousel for little kids, I turned left into the food court. "Hungry?" I asked Lester.

I stopped and faced him when he didn't answer. "You hungry?" I repeated.

"Yeah." He said shaking his head as if to clear it.

I went strait to a japanese restaurant and got teriyaki chicken. Yum.

Lester headed to a Panda something and got Taco's, too healthy, Jeez. We found an empty table and planted ourselves at it. We ate in silence at first, I broke it. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" He asked looking up from his taco with a puzzled look.

"For being so...mean...earlier, at the diner. I wasn't trying to, and I didn't intend for it to apear that way."

"It's okay." A few beats of uncomfortable silence went by. "You seam comfortable with the area."

"I grew up around here."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I live about three and a half miles from here. I used to run here all the time."

"Three and a half mile run?" He asked in disbelief.

"I normally run five. But I'd come here and have lunch, then shop and hang out in the Arcade." His face it up at the mention of an arcade, I was going to have to show him it.

"Sounds fun."

I smiled a little. "It was."

"I lived in the middle of nowhere for the longest time. Then when I did live in the city, my mom never let me leave. She was to afraid that I'd get hurt. I was a very small child. I got into the military at 18. Thats where I met Ranger, Tank and Bobby. We've been pals since."

"Cool. I've taken a few military training sessions, but I wasn't old enough to enlist, even though many places wanted me."

"Thats a good thing. Don't do it unless your sure beautiful."

The use of the nickname made me blush.

We finished in silence. It felt good to be some what friends again. I felt like an enemy all the way here.

We dumped our trays and I told lester I had someplace to show him. I turned left out of the arcade and went strait, all the way down to the other end of them mall where best buy was. The Arcade was next to it. I stopped and turned in the direction of it and entered. "The arcade." I said by way of introduction.

"Come here. I'm going to show you my favorite game here." I said and grabbed his arm, leading him to the left side. It was a shooting game. You had to shoot the alien things. It was a sweet game. There was a red gun and a blue gun.

He smiled and we both went to the change machines and got loads of courters. We both shoot real guns for a living. In fact, I had several hidden on me now, nobody seemed to notice (I don't see how they didn't though, seen as one was on my thigh.) We pilled them on the console and popped in 50 cents each, then grabbed our gun. Me the red, him the blue. The game started and we shot the shit out of the dudes. It took longer to have to put more money in because we were both so good, we hardly got hit. When we did put more in, we each kept our gun in one hand and added more money, then hit the start button. You had to shoot off screen to load, so you'd be amazed at how many times I shot off screen as I killed every thing. (Not the good guys.)

After half an hour, we had a very large dent in the courter supply and we had a crowd gathering. I was having fun, but I was getting a little uneasy. My arm hurt from holding the gun, but I didn't like the crowd. I couldn't see behind me, someone could easily use my knife and...

The screen blinked saying I had 10 seconds to put more money in and I shook my head clearing it and added the money. I continued to shoot them until we both were out of lives. We could add money, but we decided to let it be done. We both had high scored and high kills. Sweet.

There was no more coins and my arms ached. I blushed again, looking at the big crowd.

We were done here.

When we got out to the hallway again we walked around a little more. I ended up getting three stretchy t-shirts and a tank top, then then two pairs of jeans, two black t-shirts, two pairs of black cargos, a leotard, and matching dark blue workout pants, then I got a large jersey and sweat pants. I also stopped in at Best Buy and got myself an expensive, but small laptop, and some computer games. I wasn't going to get RangeMan level search engines at the mall. I made sure that some of the best computer games, like _Sims_ and War Craft. Lester bought a few things too, not sure what, but something.

Sometime through shopping, he had linked his arm around my shoulder. It was okay, I hadn't stiffened, it was okay now. But, I was worried about later.

With a sigh I beeped the SUV unlocked and we put our bags in the trunk. I got back in the drivers seat and Lester got in Shot gun. the Q came back on and I pulled out. Next place was a hotel. I knew there was a nice hotel near by. I could see one from the Mall.

After five minutes I pulled up into the lot of a Holiday Inn. I blew out a breath and went in with Lester on my heals.

There was a blond lady behind the front desk. "Hello, welcome to the Holiday Inn, how may I assist you?" She said like a sails person.

"I'd like to rent a room."

She clicked a few keys. "We're pretty packed...but we have a room with queen size bed and a room with a twin bed available."

I stared at her.

Oh. God.

"Queen size." I mumbled.

"Okay. Fifth floor, room 3016. Have a nice stay."

I nodded and took the key from her. It was a swipe card. I headed out to the car, once again with Lester behind me. We silently got our stuff from the back of the SUV and headed back in, beeping it locked on the way. We piled into the elevator and Lester pushed the fifth floor button. The ride was long and uncomfortable.

When the doors dinged open we walked down the hallway reading off numbers. 3014, 3016. The room was on the left side, next to 3014. I swiped the card through and pushed the door open. We both went in. As she said there was a queen size bed in the middle of the room. It was a nice room. Off white walls, with pale yellow bed sheets, a t.v. and a bathroom to the side. I set my bag down by the window and looked out cautiously. It was a pretty nice view. We were facing the Mall and I could see some places I recognized.

I turned around and my gaze wandered to the bed but I averted it to my bag. "Cara."

I looked up.

"I can sleep on the floor if it's more comfortable."

"No, thats okay. I'll be fine." I hoped.

He nodded but seemed unsure.

My watch said that it was approaching five PM. There was no way that I was going to get to sleep yet, to early, so I grabbed my bag and headed into the bathroom. I did a quick test, and as expected, since I had the soda, it was a little high once again, but not bad. I changed into my stretchy pants and a tank top. I don't get cold when I run. I carried my bag out of the bathroom and set it back down. "You want to come?"

"Sure." He said nodding with a small smile and went into the bathroom. I shoved a couple bills into my pocket and started stretching. Tomorrow morning, or maybe the day after, I was going to have to go to my gym and practice. Lester came out and I almost fell over. He was wearing sweatpants and running shoes. Thats it. Guys don't usually affect me, he never had, but damn, he looked good. I smiled and he smiled back. We finished stretching and headed out.

I decided to go on my usual route, just starting in a different place because the hotel was along the route. We started down the street and crossed around random places, at least random to him. When we got to the three mile mark, I pulled to the side and into a small store. I grabbed two bottle of water with the sippy caps and headed back out. Lester was looking at me curiously, but when I tossed him a bottle, he seemed to silently understand. We kept going. Finally, we got back to the hotel. The route was 5.3 miles. My usual route to. I was tired, and winded, but nothing less than normal, because, hey, I was smiling.

We headed up and he let me use the bathroom first. I took a quick shower and slipped into a pair of sweat pants and my jersey. I was fully clothed, like usual. I set my gun on the night stand next to my knife and sat on the side of the bed. I already knew that It was going to be another restless night. This time Tank wouldn't come in, Lester would be right there.

I was weary of that idea.

Lester came out of the shower and set his gun on his side of the bed before sitting on the bed. I had, by then, migrated to the window and was looking out, memories once again, fresh on my mind.

"You sure Cara. I'd be glad to sleep-"

"It's fine Lester. Really. I'm just thinking. It feels like yesterday I was here."

He nodded again. Gosh, whats with the nodding?

I sat on the bed and we both got in. I rolled with my back to him, curled up. I was almost shaking. I knew what was going to happen when I went to sleep.

With a sigh, I relaxed unhappily into sleep.

_I felt him slam me into the clod brick of the dark ally. The breath left my lungs in a rush. He pressed me harder when I made a move to escape. Nope, not gonna happen. He crushed his lips to mine and grabbed both wrists in one. _

_Suddenly he shed me of my clothes as with his. He was in me, unwillingly. I screamed and cried as he became more aroused . I went into my happy place. Stopped struggling and stopped, just gave up. I thought about my homework and what I would write for the essay I had coming up in English. The poster we're making in art and the lines of the play I'm in..._

_I was brought back to reality when he bit my shoulder. I screamed..._

This time, it continued though, I didn't wake up yet.

_He was still holding me to the wall, still torturing me. I looked at the ally way, the detail of the brick, the different colors of them. _

_He licked my neck, biting and sucking the skin as well, marking me probably. He was touching me, yuck, I didn't like it, the feel, it hurt, he was kneading my..._

_He was gone all of a sudden, the cold hit me. I was bleeding from strange places. He wasn't gone though, no, he had stepped away. He got his clothes on and I stayed huddled on the ground, unmoving. He came back over to me. "Don't forget me baby." Then he smiled. "Oh, I have no doubt you wont. See you at school. And don't forget about the test tomorrow." And then he was really gone._

I sat bolt up right, once again, choking off the scream. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. I struggled to regain my composure, but it wasn't working. I let the tears flood down my face and I stood up, blindly heading for the bathroom.

I hit a warm wall and back up. The firmiliar feeling of something wet drip from my nose made my hand go instantly to my nose. "Cara!" Lester shouted.

I was sobbing so hard that I was shaking. He wrapped his arms around me tight. I meant to fight, but I just sagged to the ground.

_Lester's POV_

I woke up startled from sleep. Cara. She was shaking, crying. Damn. I got out of bed and went around to her side. I tried waking her, but she continued to sleep.

I was sitting on the bed next to her and almost fell off when she screamed out, not waking still. Her nose was starting to bleed, dripping out as she screamed. When she stopped screaming, she was sobbing harder, louder. Finally, she sat up right and stifled another scream. She was disoriented, but managed to get up and make way towards the bathroom. I got in her way and she just walked into me.

More blood dripped from her nose and one of her hands flew to it. She was still crying, sobbing so hard she was shaking. I shouted her name, trying to get her attention. It didn't work so I wrapped my arms around her expecting her to fight me, but she just stiffened, then sagged to the ground. I rocked her back and forth, calming her down. Slowly she quieted down until she was just shaking while crying silently.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, so quiet that I barely heard it.

"Don't be." I said back.

"I shouldn't of-"

I knew where she was going with this, she shouldn't of freaked like that, she shouldn't of been upset and cried. "Don't." I said cutting her off.

"But-"

"No." Maybe I was confusing her, but no, she wasn't going to blame her self for this.

"What time is it?" She asked after a long period of silence.

"Three thirty." I said flicking my gaze to my watch.

She slowly disentangled herself from me and wiped her eyes.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah, kinda." I waited. She was going to say something, I could tell, and I didn't want to interrupt. "It was the worst. Usually I just have the beginning. This time he went through the whole thing, what he says to me though, thats what get to me." Her eyes were distant but filled with emotions. "_'Don't forget me baby.' _Then he smiled at me,_ 'Oh, I have no doubt you wont. See you at school. And don't forget about the test tomorrow.' _And he left. I was just, there, in the ally, I was so confused. Scared. I didn't know what to do." New tears slid down her cheek. This explained her reaction to the latest distraction, he had called her baby, and her face went dead pale.

"I don't know how long I sat there, huddled in the corner, still not wearing anything, lost. I finally got dressed and got home. I didn't speak to anybody for almost a month. I had gone home, bleeding, and my mom hadn't noticed. Maybe she had, but she didn't say anything. I spoke for the first time, when I was signing up for more self defense courses. I had stopped gymnastics in that month, my grades had sunk, I was failing everything. I was dead inside. I got up, went to school, sat through the day, wen home and wrote. I wrote fan-fiction and read it, I expressed my feeling in my writing. Thats all I did all day through that month.

Then, every morning and night I was doing a five mile run. My grades came up and I got into a couple self defense courses, I was back in gymnastics, but I still didn't talk to people. I went to the mall and played my game, shopped for new close, went home. After three months, I was trained enough to have people sending me flyers for the military, national guard, army, air force, even security companies.

Then, over the summer I took another training course. I was accepted to the Ranger's. I didn't go. I had to deal with school, I couldn't be gone. I just couldn't. But, I could've. I could've been in the Ranger's" She said a small smile playing at her lips. Then she suddenly frowned. "The first day back to school, I found it hard to deal with. I wasn't aloud to carry or bring my new toys. With out my parents I had run out of town a ways and boughten three knifes and two guns. I couldn't bring them, so I had my cell, it wasn't enough though. On the way home, I had nothing and so, I was going to run. I was wearing my normal black cargos and t-shirt. Some days I'd wear some colors, but not jeans, can't run in them. So, on the way, I was almost home, when I was tripped. It was Jon. He pulled me to my feet, leaving finger print bruises on my arms, then shoved me against the wall. It was that day again. The only difference, I had training. Nobody knew about my training, nobody paid attention to me. So, I defended myself. I broke his nose and almost broke his shin, but managed to crack his rib. I took off." She looked back up, less distant. "That was the last time he bothered me."

We sat silently for some time. "Thank you." I said suddenly."

"What?"

"Thank you. Thank you for trusting me and sharing that."

"Huh." She said a little dumbfounded but then hauled herself up. I got up as well, I hadn't even realized it, we were sitting on the floor before. She went in the bathroom, but didn't shut the door, so I leaned against the frame. She splashed some water on her face, then used a cloth to wipe away the blood from her nose. She smiled in the mirror, locking eyes with me through it.

"You want to go back to sleep?"

"I think so." She said yawning. I smiled at her and we both got back into bed, rolling to our respective sides.

Although, I was tired, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't believe what he had done to her, but she had recovered so well. She was still very messed up from it. Nightmares, the stiffening under someone's touch and nose bleeds. She had a bad case of PTSD. Although, her being able to sleep in the same bed with me, sexual or not, is good, it's also good that she was warming up to me. She was still shy, but she stiffened less often, still did fractionally, most every time, but at the bar and in the gym. Those were big, this was better.

She drives me crazy though. She is, very attractive and her personality, it's so like mine. She likes shooting games, running, and she has a sense of humor. She's diabetic like me and like me, is good enough for the Ranger's. That is not easy to get that close to. She had kicked my ass in the gym. But damn, that leotard, her doing gymnastics, that is one hot sport to watch. She bent with ease and accuracy, it was cool. Oh, and her music choices. Eminem and Panic at the disco rock. She also had black eyed peas in there. Cool.

After thinking about her for another half an hour, I fell asleep.


	12. Back to School

Chapter 12

Cara's POV

I woke up the next morning with the sun still down, and a quick glance at my watch proved that, yes, it was early. 5:02AM to be exact. I silently slid from between the covers trying not to wake Lester who coincidentally was still conked out in the bed. I grabbed a clean black t-shirt and black cargos, then went into the bathroom with them. The bathroom was like a normal hotel bathroom, shower on the left, toilet on the right, sink dead ahead.

I set my clothes on the counter and checked to see that there were towels set out. I twisted the knobs on and cold water streamed down, quickly turning warm. I checked to make sure the door was shut and locked, then stripped down and stood under the spray. Today was going to be hard, I was going to figure out if I really did live here, I was going to get answers, make sure I wasn't going crazy, because frankly, right about now, I think I am. Here I am, in this new place living with the characters of my book. I had top wonder if I had dreamt anything, or if I'm just freaking nuts. Thats nice isn't it.

When my shower was done, I grabbed the towel and wrapped it tightly around me before exiting the shower. Finding the bathroom still empty, I got out and dried off a bit, then got dressed in my black outfit, black would give me courage. I glanced at my watch, 6:04AM. Ouch. I had taken an hour. I wrapped my hair in the towel and held it tight, rubbing it together trying to fry my hair some more. When I was satisfied that it was drier then before I pulled the towel away and shook out my hair.

I unlocked the door and went back into the room, putting my dirty close in the bag and grabbing my small makeup bag which happened to hold a small travelers hairbrush and a toothbrush. I brushed my hair just getting out the knots then brushed my teeth and put everything back in the bag, but left it on the counter. It was time to wake up Lester. We had to leave at 7:30 if we wanted to get to school on time, I was, in-fact, going back to school for the day, I had to know if people were going to recognize me.

I got to the side of the bed and stood there, realizing how weird this was going to be. "Uh, Lester. Lester, it's uh, you gotta get up." I said in a normal speaking voice, hoping not to scare him or feel weird. I tapped him on the shoulder hesitantly. "Lester, uh, yeah, um, wake up?" I asked it as a question now, How weird was this.

I rose my voice a little. "Lester" I said and tapped his shoulder. "Leeeessstteeerr." I said dragging out his name. He groaned and rolled onto his back, my hand fell away from his shoulder and his eyes cracked open, a smile spreading across his face.

"Morning beautiful."

I stood staring at him, unable to move or speak.

"Whats up?" He asked drawing attention to himself.

"Uh, we have to leave soon, thought you might want time to get ready."

"Great, where are we going?"

"Uh..." I stuttered a little. "To, uh, school."

"Oh. Okay, sounds good. I'll be ready in half an hour.

I nodded and grabbed my little bag and the drier from the bathroom and let him be. I plugged the drier in and started drying my wet hair.

After fifteen minutes, I had it dry and brushed out. I was going to put it up like always, but side tracked and just put it on my wrist, then started on make up. I decided to go light, a couple swipes of black mascara and some eye liner.

By the time I was all the way ready, boots and all, Lester was coming out of the bathroom ready as well. My hair was almost always put up, at least since I had been at RangeMan, the only time it was down was when I was found on the road by Ranger. Since then, it was always up in my normal ponytail. Today though, today I had it down strait, bouncing lightly off my shoulders.

I stood, leaning against the windowsill, waiting for Lester to be totally ready. He didn't seem to see me as he went strait to the night-stand on his side and started grabbing his gun and knifes. "No weapons." I reminded him. He looked over to me and his eyes widened slightly, lips turning up into a small smile.

"We're going to school Lester. No weapons."

"You look great." He commented, spacing out on what I had just said.

"So do you. Now, you ready?"

He blinked. "Uh, oh, yeah." He once again started to work on his weapons.

"Lester, gosh, no weapons aloud at school, nothing can get you out of that rule."

"Forgot about that."

"Huh." I said and pushed off the wall towards him. I grabbed my cell and his from my bag and tossed him his, then clipped mine to my belt. I set it to vibrate and looked up at him giving him the '_I'm trusting you'_ look. If he calls Ranger he might get reinforcements to carry my crazy ass back there.

He nodded, getting the message.

Five minutes later we were pulling out of the hotel parking lots. I took the ten minute drive time, to think about what I was doing. More specifically, if I was doing the right thing, I mean, not knowing if I was crazy or not could wait. Right?

I eased into a student spot and shut off the engine, not making any move to get out. My high school is a large, red-brick, two-story building. There aren't many walls that aren't on the outside of the building, in other words, there is a frame of the building, and of course the bathrooms, the rest are like sheets on stands. Also, the who place is really ugly, the lockers are multi colored and as are the walls. My homeroom is purple for gods sake!

"Cara?" Lester asked after about thirty seconds of silence.

"Yeah." I said on a sigh. "I know, lets go." I finally got out of the car and walked with all the courage I could towards the front door. I stopped right before entering just long enough to take a really deep breath, then pushed through the double doors.

I knew where I had to go and when, it was just a matter of pulling up the guts to do it. Homeroom was first, so I turned left upon entering, then a right, left, right, up the stairs and down the hallway to the right. The entire way, all the kids were looking at me like I was crazy, I hadn't seen anybody that I was friends with and the looks were getting hard to deal with. Punching them would keep their eyes away...

I walked through the open door to my homeroom and walked in timidly. I did not have many friends, no best friends at least, no one knew about that night in the ally but me and him, and, I guess whoever else he told.

"Cara? How great to see you. Welcome back." It was Mrs. Mornicky, or Mrs. M.

"Hi Mrs. Mornicky." I said with a small smile. I'm surprised she remembered my name.

"Who is this? Student? Friend?"

I looked to Lester and we locked eyes. "Co-worker I guess."

"Co-worker? You have a job?" She paused for a second. "Thats great. To many people don't have jobs now a days. Need to earn a living you know. Where do you work?"

I was turned back to her, seen as I had been staring at Lester while she asked me all the questions. "A security company." I said simply.

"Oh? I don't know of any around here. Whats it called?"

"Uh..." I trailed off and looked back at Lester. Luckily, I didn't have to answer. The bell rang and all the kids in the room filtered around, piling into seats. I smiled at Mrs. Mornicky and took my seat at the back of the room. This was going to be weird. Lester is going to be watching me all day. Huh.

She started roll call. "Laura?" She called.

"Here." Was the response from a brown haired student.

"Kelly?" The list went on, each being replied with a here. "Suzanne?, Max?, Denis?, Valerie?, Cassie?, Kelsie?, Ian?" Finally she called my name. "Cara, here." She said marking it without having to call it out.

Half the class turned around and looked at me surprised to see me here. Once they turned back, I slid down in my chair so my legs were out stretched and planted firmly on the ground. So what if I slouch?

Lester, looking all to comfortable, was standing off to the side back corner. I kept one eye on him and one on the class. It was only homeroom, so it was just talking about how we were and what we did yesterday.

I was startled out of thought by Mrs. Mornicky talking to me. "Cara? Why don't you tell the class about where you've been." She asked.

I looked to Lester then back to Mrs. M and back to Lester, raising an eyebrow. Finally my gaze settled on Mrs. Mornicky, I was just blankly staring at her. Most of the kids in the class had turned around by now, looking at me and Lester expectantly. Finally, one kid, actually, the school prep, Kelly, a dumb blond, spoke. "So glad you decided to grace us with your lovely presence." She said sarcastically rolling her eyes and giggling with her friends.

I remained silent. "You can speak can't you? Oh, oh my, you haven't gone mute have you? That would be a pity now wouldn't it?" She asked with mock pity.

I switched my gaze to her. _Shut up or I'll break your fucking finger, _came to mind. I decided it best, not to respond.

"Oh, so now you go mute. So stupid." She mumbled, just loud enough to hear. I didn't react. Giving a reaction only makes it worse. Lester on the other hand, he looked about ready to explode. His fists were clenched, even though his arms were crossed, but his posture was stiff.

"Okay, maybe not." Mrs. Mornicky said frustrated. "Can you introduce your friend to us at least?"

I looked at her once again, then to Lester and settled on Lester. "His names Lester." I said firmly. I wasn't going into any more detail than that. She left me alone after that and went on to torture more innocent students. Okay, not so innocent.

We said the pledge and listened to announcements. I was informed by the teacher, that my schedule was the same. Good for me.

When the bell finally rang I stood and found Lester already at my side. I gave him a small smile. "I have to go to my locker before next class, then we're going to Biology."

He grimaced and followed me out into the hall, finally out of the purple room. Heres the thing about the school. The organization sucks. I have biology on the bottom floor along with PE and Physics, then, Calculous, Homeroom, English4, Webteam and art are on the second floor. Yeah, art and webteam, suck. I like webteam a bit, we make web sites the entire time, but art, I hate art. I'm pretty sure I'm failing it. After the incident with Jon, not only did I stop caring, but I stopped participating, I wouldn't take it if I didn't have to chose between Band, Courus and art.

I got to my locker, number 7235, on the second floor about two minutes later. That left me three minutes to get my stuff and get to class. I twisted in the combination, 27-32-03. When I popped it open, I found my regular old locker. It was organized, rarely is, but it was. I had all my binders and books lining the bottom. I grabbed my Biology text book and binder, then grabbed a pencil out of the little magnetized holder I had on the door before shutting it.

With Lester following behind me I walked down the hallway of lockers and turned right down the hallway, went passed commons and the cafeteria then into room 1224. Mr. Higgons Biology class. Yeah, higgens, as in Professor Higgens, reminds me of the first Stephanie Plum book...

I walked in and promptly went to the back seat of the room like usual and slouched into it. For the next minute, kids started piling into the class, then the warning bell went off and more kids came in, taking their seats. Finally, when the bell went off, Mr. Higgens stood behind his desk and picked up a clip board. His attendance sheet. Again, he called off names. "Cara?"

"Here." I said from my seat.

He looked up surprised to see me. Wow, people get really curious after a week and a half. He smiled at me and nodded. "Glad to have you back. You feel better?"

Better? I wasn't sick. "Wasn't sick." I simply replied.

"You weren't?"

I just stared at him and he shook his head and continued on with attendance. After attendance he started in on a unit they had been working on. It was suspiciously close to an eighth grade science class. It was about the earths interior, then he started talking about what the different layers are made up of, Iron, nickel, granite, basalt...and so on. I was starting to tune him out, boring.

"Miss Wanterlyn. Would you please tell the class the thickness of the crust."

"5-40 kilometers." I replied not opening my eyes. Some time through the class I had closed my eyes and relaxed, listening somewhat to the conversation.

"Very good, what is the inner core made of?"

"Iron and nickel."

"Wegener's theory?"

He had changed topics a bit. It still had to do with the earth, but it had to do with the surface. Still, without opening my eyes I responded easily. "That all the continents used to be one."

"And the name of the super-continent?" He seemed curious.

"Pangaea."

"Okay. You've done your home work, I'll give you that. What evidence did Wegener have that the continents were all one?"

I sat up and stared at him blankly. You _got _to be kidding. "When he pieced the continents together he found plants and animals, along with mountain ranges that matched up. Like, for example, the island named Spitsbergen. It's an ice-covered planet but it has tropical plants that match up with South Africa, the only reason it became cold and ice covered would be because of the position it ended up at." With that I laid my head back down and closed my eyes.

The class went on, him not bothering me again. I assume that he got more into the chemicals and compounds of things after my little questionnaire. I though, I was stuck on the fact that Lester knew me as Cara Summerland if anything. He heard my real last name. Waterlyn. Cara Lee Waterlyn. Weird eh?

When class ended I perked up and grabbed all my stuff. I'm smart enough to get the grade, it just requires the patience to do it. I never did homework as it was.

"Cara." Mr. Higgens called me as I was leaving. I stopped and sighed, lowering my head and turning back to him.

"Yeah?" I asked caring less.

"How did you know the answers?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. Why wouldn't I?

"Were you even paying attention in class?"

"No."

"Then how did you know?"

"We learned it in eighth grade." I responded dumbly.

"It's been four years."

"So?" I asked raising my eyebrow again.

"So, how do you remember it?" He pried

"I don't know." and I didn't really know why. I just did.

"Did you get the page numbers for the homework tonight?"

"Nope."

"They're written on the board."

I glanced at the board behind him. Sure enough the pages were written down. I looked back to him and turned to go.

"Cara." He said again. I hadn't even turned a full 90-degrees yet, but I stopped. "What changed? You were the best student in my class. Getting your homework in, participating in class, what changed? What happened to make you stop. You've just given up."

I remained perfectly still. What changed? What changed is that I got violated by a kid in school, of which is in my next class none the less.

"You can talk to me you know." He said quietly.

"I'm going to be late for calculus." And I left. Memories clear. Lester would follow, I knew that. I went strait back to my locker and exchanged my biology text book for my math one. I also changed binders and grabbed a pack of gum out of the holder. I always had gum with me. I popped a piece in and shut my locker. I turned to my left and looked for Lester. He was a couple feet away but came up to me when I locked eyes yet again with him.

"You okay?"

"Fine."

"You don't look fine to me." He said.

"I don't care if I look fine to you or not. I'm fine." I forced out and headed to calculus.

When I entered, it was like in biology, I took the seat in the back. Only problem was, on my way, I had to pass Jon. Sitting there in the chair, looking perfectly comfortable. I avoided eye contact, because I knew from experience that if I looked into his eyes, i'd freeze up.

I slumped into a chair and ground my teeth together, glaring holes into the back of Jon's head.

I looked over to see that Lester was in here. I didn't want to be alone. I wasn't though. He had pulled up the extra chair and was slouched in it slightly, watching me, then flickering his gaze to Jon, and back to me. I nodded lightly. Telling him that it was him. He seemed to recognize him from the picture.

After attendance the teacher Ms. Kozak started in on the lesson, me tuning out. She was doing the review chapter, going over the last chapter of the book. I knew this stuff.

I once again closed my eyes and once again was called upon by the teacher. "Cara, would you like to show us how to do this problem, since you seem so confident that you can sleep through this class."

I rolled my eyes slightly and slid from my seat, walking around so that I didn't walk past Jon. The problem on the board was one that I had seen before. 36+7n12n+29. Solve for n. Easy, subtract 7n from 12n and you end up with 365n+29. Then, you subtract 29 from 36, leaving you with 75n. Now you do 7 divided by 5. n1.4. I circled my answer and put the chock on the shelf, then returned to my seat. "Correct." She sang out.

I sat, keeping my eyes open this time, and waited longingly for the bell to ring. Time went by, slowly. By the time my 50 minute class was done, I was going to melt. I was exited though. When the bell rang I was out of my seat first. I made it five steps down the hallway before _he _caught up to me. Jon that is. I was unprepared, and he knocked me into the wall, pinning me there, not only immobilizing my feet, but my hands.

I momentarily panicked. I was defenseless, but not alone. Lester, I thought, Lester will help me. I hope. He leaned into me, whispering in my ear. "I messed you. Where'd you go? Run away, run away from me maybe. You know, breaking my nose that day, and cracking my rib, that was bad. Later baby. I'll get even. I-" Whatever he was going to say was cut off when he was picked up, at least a foot from the ground. I looked up at Lester, holding him easily by the back of the neck like a cat. "Let go of me you jack ass. Who the fuck do you think you are? Protecting the bitch?!" He was shouting so loud, I was surprised that he wasn't given a detention for 'bad language'.

Lester looked at him with disgust, but dropped him, sending him sprawling to the floor. He got up and scrambled off. "Thanks Lester." I said picking up my books that had dropped in result of being pinned to the wall.

"No problem beautiful."

Next class was art. I went for my locker and dropped off all my junk before heading out towards the bathrooms. I had done this many times before, resulting in detentions, not abnormal though. I ended up going from a smart geek, to a bad ass because of one guy. I guess I should thank him. He made me about $20,000. ($10,000 per distraction job) It was nice.

Once at the bathroom doors I slid into the nook unnoticed and stood, waiting around the corner with Lester next to me. "What are you doing?"

I glanced at him and managed to get a small smile out, ignoring the tears forming in the corner of my eyes. I blinked and turned away, watching the crowd thin out. The bell rang and I stood, still waiting for everybody to be gone. When the hallway was empty I gestured Lester to follow and walked out of the door. I went all the way down the hall to the custodial closet. I went in with Lester and shut the door, then went over to the small window and unlocked it. I climbed out and turned to Lester with a smile. He narrowed his eyes at me and I could see anger dancing in his eyes, he knew that I was skipping. He pulled himself up and through the window. How, I don't know, but he did. I knew that I had to be back for P.E. at 12:39pm, so I headed for the student lot and hopped in my SUV. Lester got in on the other side and buckled up. I took a cleansing breath, it felt good to be out of there, in there, I was wimpy, smart, geeky, incapable of defending myself.

"You okay beautiful? You look stressed."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I am a bit stressed. I just, I wasn't ready for him to come yet. Not yet. It's like going back to the school for the first time after what he did to me in the ally. He had left me alone, now, he says that he's going to get even. I don't think I'll be able to deal with that."

"You skip school?"

"Yes."

"Since Jon?" He asked.

"Yeah. Since him." With that, I started up the SUV and pulled out. I sped to the hotel and parked, getting out and locking it behind me. Lester followed me up to our room and asked what we were doing here.

"Getting clothes." I responded.

"Clothes?"

"Yep. Grab your work out clothes, might want them." I told him grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder. He grabbed a bag and we both headed back out to the SUV. I drove strait to my sanctum. Mine, my place to go and relax. Cool down and brush away all bad thoughts.

I went in and was greeted by a firmiliar voice. "Cara! It's been a while, I was wondering when you were coming back. Oh, and who is this?"

It was Amy, the receptionist for the building. I had known her for a while, she was the one who rented me the room. "Amy, this is Lester, Lester, this is Amy, I've known her for a while."

"The same one?" She asked me.

"Yep." I smiled and hugged her. I handed her the cash for the space for and hour then led Lester through the glass doors to 'my room'. It had a balance beam off to the side and the uneven bars in the middle, then there was a treadmill off to the other side.

I slid into the bathroom and changed into my leotard, then put my hair up and in a tight bun. The mat is one thing to do with your hair down or in a loose ponytail, but it's easier to do the bars (for me) if my hair is out of my face. I went back into the room to find Lester standing in the middle looking at the bars like they were going to talk to him. "Looking for something?"

"No, just, curious."

"Lester, curious?"

"Yes." He replied with a smile. "Lester curious. You gonna show off for me?"

A slow smile spread across my face. "Ooh yeah." I did all my stretches so that I didn't pull anything, then walked up to the bars and grabbed the little pads that were there. They have a special grip so you can slide around the bar, but not slip off, and so that you don't get blisters. I dipped my hands in the chalk bag and clapped my hands together then took a deep breath before stepping about a meter away and jumping onto the bar in a swing. I kicked my legs up and backwards so that I flipped backwards up the bar, into a hand stand, then turning around and swinging back wards and repeating it, going forwards, then switching to backwards, then back to forwards. When I had the leverage I wanted, I brought my feet up, split to the bar and nothing but threw myself at the higher bar. I caught it and did a few simple swings around, twisting, not letting go to much because just because I could do the uneven bars, definitely did not mean that I was an expert.

When I was ready, I did a double flip in the air, landing it with an extra step, then throwing my hands up like I was taught. I looked over at Lester and smiled at him.

"Damn beautiful, that was awesome."

"Thanks. Theres a treadmill if you want to use it." I told him motioning towards the treadmill on the corner.

For the next hour I did the balance beam, floor, and vault . I ran on one of the bikes for ten minutes and also did some push ups and curl ups. I did some of the training exercises I had learned, like some of the SEAL moves, and some from the Ranger's. My trainers had taught me that.

After that we changed up, each taking a brief shower, then headed to a restaurant for lunch. We ended up stopping at Subway so that we could have healthy sandwiches, I'm not much of a health freak, but right now, I needed something healthy, plus, I haven't checked my blood sugar. I might want to do that...

We pulled into the nearby Subway and we walked in together. I got a roast-beef and cheese sandwich, while lester got a turkey and cheese, green pepper, black olive and pickle with oil sandwich. Yeah, we're different.

We planted our selves at tables and started eating. Lester broke the silence. "When do you have to be back?"

"I wasn't supposed to leave, but I want to get back by 12:30, it'll give me time to get to P.E." I told him, then took another large bite.

"Thats in twenty minutes."

"I know."

"You going to leave yet?"

"I need to go to the hotel first, then we'll head back to school. We have five more minutes here." I said and we lapsed into silence. At the end of the five minutes I got up and threw away my trash, Lester doing the same, then headed out to the car. We piled in and I drove to the hotel, went up to the room, checked my blood sugar quickly and dumped the little tester in my pocket with the bag of strips, then headed back to the car. Lester was waiting in there for me. I drove start to the school and we parked quickly locking the SUV before heading to the window and sneaking back in. I stood by the door, standing guard to wait for a clear time to slip into the hallway. When it was empty, I walked calmly to my locker and opened it, pretending to be rummaging around when the bell rang. Everyone piled out into the hall surrounding me and I quit the act, grabbing my P.E. clothes and Lester and heading briskly towards the gym. I left Lester outside the locker room doors and nicely reminded him that it was the GIRLS locker room so he could not enter. I went in and found it pleasantly empty. Quickly, with nobody there, I changed into my P.E. clothes that I had kept here. It was long stretchy black pants and a black tight fit t-shirt. I slipped my hair into a ponytail and left the locker room.

Lester was leaning against the wall standing guard. "Lester." I said getting his attention, then lowering my voice. "Cool it, your not going to get hit by a terrorist bomber." I said meaning, in other words, stop being a watch dog, it's too much.

If he was going to say something back, he couldn't because all the kids for P.E. came down the hall and piled into the appropriate locker room. I stood by the wall waiting, we had to wait for our teachers to direct us. They thought we were lost. Five minutes later, they all came out and we lined up separated into three groups. Three teachers, three groups.

I had Mr. Nowalski. He lead us into the gym while another teacher lead his class into the fitness center and the third teacher lead her class into the multi-porpuse room. We were lined up in four lines, or 'squads' as they call them as she did role call. Again.

"Okay class, today is open gym like promised. I have set up the mats over there..." He pointed to the back left side of the gym. "I also set out the basketballs and there is the rope, and lastly up to three people can go to the fitness center." He concluded. I was doing the mats, even after doing an hour of it, doing more for school...cool. "Go." He said and I got up and jogged over to the mats. Lester walked around the outer edge of the gym, keeping me in sights, I could swear that I saw him smirk.

I stretched once again and stepped onto the mat. There were a few other people on the mat as well, but it was a good sized mat and all the people on it were doing little tumbles and standing in groups talking. Seeing a clear path I ran forward and did a roundoff, followed immediately by two backflips. I didn't mean to, I swear, but I did, I leaned my head back and tossed my hands up again in the finishing form, then realizing my mistake lowered them and my head before jogging back to the other side of the mat. A few people were watching, and I was getting uneasy.

I shifted uncomfortably and did another combination. Three later, I had a crowd and was backing off the mat. Even the teacher was gathering a bit. I stumbled off the mat towards Lester, unconsciously going for someone I trusted.

Next thing I knew I fell backwards and there was a warm around my stomach and one under an armpit, catching me from hitting the ground. He stood me up and faced me. Looking me dead in the eye he spoke softly. "Ignore the crowd. Your safe, I've got your back, now, go show them what you got." He brushed a stray strand of hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear. I nodded at him and took a calming breath before walking back onto the mat. _show them what you got._ What I got is a very long and cool combination, the one from bring it on that I did in the RangeMan gym.

_Front handspring, step out, round off, back handspring, step out, round off back handspring, full twisting lay out. _

I did it. Not only did I land it perfectly, but I stuck it. My feet were glued to the mat.

I had totally forgotten that there was anybody there until I heard clapping, lots of it. I looked up, stunned. Everybody was clapping. For me. But, I was the geeky girl, the smart boring ugly one. Nobody had ever clapped for me. I smiled shyly and one again backed off the mat. However, I didn't fall or stumble. I turned and with new found confidence, a lot of courage too, I walked over to Lester and kissed him on the cheek.

He smiled brightly at me. "Congrats." He whispered.

"Thanks." I said smiling.

I sat in English4 later with a goofy smile on, I had pulled up the courage and kissed him, on the cheek, but it was a start, plus, we were in front of my P.E. teacher and class. After that, I had changed up and the class was dismissed, okay, so I left without permission, but I needed to get changed. After changing we had gone to my locker, gotten my stuff and walked here.

I was in a lala land of a sort through the entire English 4 class and Webteam, I was thinking about kissing him on the cheek, I mean, I really like him, and thinking about it now, I hadn't reacted to him, normally, even to him, I'd freeze up or stiffen. I hadn't. Not at all.

I ended up getting nothing done, normal though. With a sigh I exited the program and asked to be excused to the bathroom. He filled out the pass and I took it towards the bathroom. Lester, followed, of course not into the bathroom, but he had followed me out to the hallway. I sat on the counter holding my head, one leg up on the counter and just kept thinking about it. I liked him. My first real crush, and from what I could tell, not sure but, from what I could tell, I think he liked me too. Which is way cool.

I sighed and hopped off the counter, dragging myself out the door. Lester wrapped an arm around my shoulders and instead of stiffening, I found myself leaning into him a bit...

I gave my webteam teacher Mr. Something the pass and sat back down with my head on the desk. I was tired now.

The next thing I knew someone was shaking my shoulder and whispering something in my ear.

I sat up taking in a gasp of air. I looked around. I was still in the webteam room, but it was empty. I flickered my gaze to the clock. It was late for homeroom. I had fallen asleep and...and I had dreamt, something, _but what was it? _

"Cara? How are you?" Lester asked concerned.

"I'm...I'm fine."

"Cara. That is not fine."

"What?"

"What just happened was not fine." He said and I looked at him with a horrified expression. I had done something in front of the class. Oh god. "The class was gone, it just happened. Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Cara."

"What? I am. I don't even remember it." I said defensively, then froze as I felt the all to firmiliar wet trickle. My nose. Lester handed me a tissue and I leaned my head down again, trying to stop the bleeding. It's one thing with no one around, it's another when your teacher sees it. Now he's going to think I'm a freak or something.

"Are you okay Cara?" It was Mr. whats-his-name.

"I'm fine. Would you guys stop asking me that. Lester, lets go. I'm going to be really late for homeroom.

I stood up and headed out. I went up to the second floor and found my purple colored homeroom class. She was taking attendance already. "Cara?"

"Here." I said walking in. I was just in time. Not that I cared.

I walked past the desk and dumped myself into the same seat as earlier at the back of the classroom. She finished attendance then came back towards me. "Are you okay?" She asked looking at the tissue.

I pulled it away, unintentionally showing the blood. "Perfect."

Mrs. Mornicky was always interested in my for some reason, always wanted to talk to me. Now was no different. She sat in a chair at the desk to my right and turned to me. "Will you tell me where you went?"

"No." I answered simply.

"Wont or can't?"

I thought about it for a second, briefly looking to Lester. "Can't." Because I don't wont to.

"Oh. Did it have to do with work?"

"Yes."

"Ooh, did you work with Lenstar?"

"It's Lester and some what. I have a lot of other coworkers."

"Oh my. What are there names? What do they look like?"

What is it with this woman?

Saved from answering, the bell rang signaling everybody that they could leave. I stood up. "Bye." I said briefly to Mrs. Mornicky.

"Oh, see you tomorrow Cara."

_Don't count on it, _I thought leaving the room with Lester. "She drives me nuts." I told him while we walked dow the hall.

"The lady with the questions?"

"Yes. My god I starting to think the bell would never ring." I commented making Lester start laughing as we walked out the doors of the school.

_**Okay, somewhat cheesy ending, but, the next chapter will be the rest of the day, I was just getting impatient. I needed to end the chapter**_

_**R&R**_

_**Peanut16**_


	13. To the Parents

Meeting her Parents

Once in the car I drove to the hotel briefly. We both grabbed out weapons and went back out to my SUV. We were going to my house, or, my old house at least. That meant that Lester was going to meet my mother and Sister. Yeah, sister. Younger one too. My sister's name is Kasha, thats what everybody calls her at least. HEr real name is Lakantina. Don't ask me why they named her that, but they did. Hence, Kasha.

I pulled into the driveway of a two-story, white house. It had blue shutters and a chipping grey gutter pipe to the left. The garage doors were shut, but I could see my mother's Volvo through the windows. The front door was a matching blue, and had a small wooden staircase (Only three steps) with one railing. There were four big bushes. One on either side of the porch, and then one on either edge of the house.

I stepped onto the porch and Lester waited on the sidewalk. I glanced over at him, then at the door and took a deep breath. I knocked twice on the metal door. I bowed my head and fidgeted with my fingers nervously. Thirty seconds later the door opened and I looked up. My mother was at the door, looking at me, mouth open. Frozen. I smiled weakly. "Hey Mom."

"Cara?" She asked, then her eyes widened. "My baby!" She shouted and latched onto me in a big hug, dragging me inside. I pulled away when we entered the door and I motioned to Lester.

"Mom, this is Lester, Lester, this is my mom."

"Ma'am." He nodded.

"Why hello Lester." My mother greeted. "What a pleasure to meet you. Come in, come in."

We followed her in.

The door lead to a small entry way, where I kicked off my shoes, Lester doing the same. There was a stair case to the right and one on the left, right in the middle. She walked up the on on the left. It lead to the main hallway. To the right was my sisters room ,the bathroom and my parents room, and to the left was the living room and kitchen. She turned towards the living room and walked through to the kitchen. "Would you like some tea? Coffee, soda?"

"No thank you ma'am."

"Oh, call me Penny, dear."

Kill me now.

Lester grinned and I glared at him before sitting down at the table. Lester sat next to me and my mom walked around the kitchen gathering the tray and little kettle. When she set it on the table, she poured two mugs of tea and passed one to me. What? I like tea.

I took a sip and waited for my mom to start. She was never this cheery. "So, where were you?"

"Away."

"Cara. Why did you leave?"

"I wanted to. Plus, it's not like you care." I said, mumbling the latter.

Not my best move. "Cara! How could you think that? I love you, of course I cared! I was worried sick when you were gone in the morning. It's not like you to run off. I've been worried. It's been like, a week."

"Yeah, I know. I came here to stop by and get my stuff. I'm leaving. Moving permanently." I waited, closing my eyes for her to explode.

Bingo. "Your only 18! You can't move out! Plus, how will you support your self! You still don't have a job! And what about school ,you haven't even finished high-school!"

"I have a job, I can move and I am. School doesn't matter." I said, summing it all up.

"Fine. I know I can't stop you, but just know that if you get kicked out because you run out of money, you can't come back. I expect you at the wedding though."

Crap. I had forgotten. My mom was getting married to _David _her boyfriend. They had been dating for a year now. My real dad had left when I was seven, an my mom had been a single parent for a while. Then she met David, and personally, I hated him. He was an ass and a stupid ass at that. Their wedding is in six days, and there is no way in hell that I will be there. I mean, why would I want to watch my mother, get married to David the guy who hits me. Well, only twice. He's not a drunk type of guy, just, when he said I did something wrong and mom's not home. The first time, after school, I wet to the gym and practiced gymnastics before coming home. Normally, mom is at work and David is at his work, but when I got home, he was waiting. He started yelling at me about respect, and how it isn't respectful, to make them worry. He told me to go to my room, and I made the mistake of standing up and shouting. "Your not my father!" Thats when he lashed out. I didn't even see it, one minute I'm standing, yelling at him, the next, his arm swung out, back handing me, and I was sprawled out on the floor with a steady stream of blood coming from my lip.

The second time I back talked him when he told me to do some thing. We were face to face when he grabbed the front of my shirt and tossed me into a wall across the room. Both times was after the attack with Jon, so I was still training, and had a harder time dodging.

"Nope. I'm not going. David is an ass." I said, finally voicing my opinion.

"Don't you dare speak of him that way!" She said standing up.

I stayed seated but unintentionally, shut up. It was some sort of mother daughter thing, she says something and my first though was to obey. But, once through that stage I continued on. "It doesn't matter what I think though, so, I simply will not be giving you my blessings. You will marry him anyways, but I will not watch you marry a monster." I paused and my mom stared at me, slack-jawed, eyes wide. "I'm going to pack my things and leave." I said and got up. Lester, who had been just sitting and watching, somewhat confused, got up as well, and followed me all the way to the stairs and down. At the bottom of the second stair case, I went right. This was my room, the guest room, and computer room. To the left was the laundry room, second bathroom and a large open room, like a basement. I unlocked my door to find my room just the way I left it. I had a key in the room, with my key chain, and a spare hidden in the hall. Lester followed me in the room and I motioned for him to sit on my bed. I re-shut and locked the door before returning to him.

My room was a square, perfect square. The walls were painted a dark blue, and the floor was a stained dark wood. My bed was to the left, while my computer desk was at the back next to my dresser. I had a built in closet on the right, and a bookcase set up by the bed like a night stand. I had a few posters up, one of Eminem and another of the Black-Eyed Peas. I had a boom-box set up on the bookcase and a CD rack on the computer desk.

"Nice room." Lester said, taking me out of my daze.

"Thanks...it works." I said looking around. "Okay." I said to my self then headed to the closet. I grabbed out my duffle bags and set them on the floor. I then, opened up my dresser draws and started filling them, pants, shirts, leotards, bathing suits...etc. etc.

When the three bags of clothes were filled, I still needed more ways to carry stuff so I went back to my closet and opened a big storage box that was in there. I dug around until I found what I wanted. Two large duffles. I had won them when I was a kid, when I did little gymnastic things, so the bags were black with little pink gymnasts on them. Kinda silly. I loaded them up with my CD's and added my in-scents, candles and alarm clock. I also stuffed in my special trash bin and folded up my posters. I put my cart of lotions in there as well.

Feeling that I had everything packed I clapped my hands together and stood up from my spot on the floor. Lester was still, still, staring at me. You'd think it'd get old.

"Okaaaay..."I dragged out.

His eyes snapped to mine, coming out from some sort of trance. He flickered his gaze around the room, taking in the packed bags, then back to me. "Done?"

"I think so, I just, uh, have to, um, change." I said hoping he'd get it. After here, we'd either go to or cross through gang territory, and I wanted to fit in. It's safest that way. Lester would have no problem, but me, being a female, had to fit in.

"Oh." He said then sat up straighter. "Kay beautiful. I'll be out side the door."

He walked to the door and undid the dead bolt and twist lock on the handle, then opened it, winked at me and left. I grabbed the pair of jeans that I had left out and slid them on. They had a slit up the back of the left pant leg, and assorted whole around the front. They were longer then my legs, but had ripped at the bottom, so it had a used look. I added a black long sleeve shirt, and a dark blue t-shirt blouse. I grabbed my DC's from the bottom of the closet and slipped into them right after my ankle socks. Usually, DC's are worn untied, but since I do not wear shoes I can't run in, I tied them up and tucked the laces under the tongue of the shoe.

I brushed my hair down once more and added my Pirates hat (Hockey team in Portland Maine) at a slightly tilted angle. I didn't wear it like the freak gangsters with it totally at a 90 degree angle, just a slight tilt. It looked good, but I was also loaded up on utilirary. I switched my weapons from one outfit to the next, and put the other one in one of the bags.

When I reopened my door Lester almost fell over. Almost. Instead, when he tried to take a step, he tripped over the edge of the hallway rug and stumbled into me, pinning me to the door. My breathing became more erratic, as did his. We were literally nose to nose, his hands framing my hips supporting him from falling.

I'm not even sure how long we stood like that,but when Kasha came crashing down the stairs, I can tell you _exactly _how long it took us to pull apart. "Cara, Cara, Cara, Your ba-" She stopped shouting just as she entered the room. "Ewwwww." She whined,curling her upper lip with disgust. "Guy cooties. Yuck. I wanted to say hi! Are you really leaving though? I mean, Dads not that bad."

"David is not dad." I growled out. My real dad was nice, didn't even think about hitting me, but he had to go, as far as mom knows, he just didn't want to raise two kids, but I did a little digging. He was called back into the military as a teacher...

"Sure he is."

"Kasha. Do not call David dad. Dad is an honorable man. David is far from it." I already knew that I had my blank face on, but I'm sure Lester could see the fire burning in my eyes.

If she was going to respond, she didn't because at that time, the front door opened and Kasha launched herself up the stairs towards who I knew was David. I didn't mind so much until the stairs down to my room creaked with excessive weight. "Shit." I mumbled unconsciously backing up towards Lester and my room.

Just as David hit the bottom step, I bumped into Lester and staggered. Lester caught me under the arm pits and hauled me up, keeping me tight to him.

_Lester's POV_

Somebody was coming down stairs, and she was not all that happy to see. I caught her as she stumbled back into her room, falling over her own feet. A tall, skinny man with black hair rounded the corner. He a fake smile plastered on his face and underneath, he looked angry. I could tell Cara knew because she was starting to shake slightly.

Fear?

I looked down at her, but she was wearing an amazing blank face, although, the only flaw was her eyes. They were somewhat wide and filled with a mixture of anger and fear. I leaned down so that my mouth was close to her ear. "I'm right here beautiful. Don't forget that." I whispered, then lightly kissed the shell of her ear.

"Cara." He said sharply, then looked to me,scanning me up and down with distaste, then looked back to her. "You need to stop telling Kasha that I'm not her father, because I am her father as well as yours. Get over it."

Cara went from scared to fuming in two seconds flat.

She tried to get herself out of my arms, but I pulled her back into me and kept her there. "You ass whole!" She shouted at him. No matter as strong as I am, a determined Cara is much more, because she ripped herself out of my arms and stood, fist clenched at her sides facing him.

"Hey!" He yelled at her, whirling around to face her. When I saw his arm move, I went for it. There was no way I was going to let him hit her. Cara beat me to it, blocking me and stepping out of his reach.

This did not stop _David _from continuing on his little speel. "Do not speak to me that way! Just because your biological father was a pig and left you, doesn't mean that you get to treat me like your father did you!"

Instead of responding yet, her whole body tensed then relaxed and she took a soft step away,back into me. I looped a single arm around her waist, giving her support. In a very calm and cool, yet emotionless voice, she spoke. "My father, was_ not _a pig. He did not leave me, or mom, or even Kasha. He left, because the military called him back in to teach a group of students. He accepted."

I was shocked. Her father was a military teacher...

Her...David- was stunned speechless. He was opening and closing his mouth with nothing coming out.

'Good', I thought to myself.

And,it would be...if David stayed speechless and didn't go into an angry denial. Once again, she (being Cara) tensed, trying to overcome the light trembling she was doing.

I decided that I did not want to see where he went with his anger,so I put a stop to the whole thing by gently pulling her into her room. I shut the door behind us, and locked it. She collapsed on the bed, grabbing a tissue out of the box set on the bookcase. I made my way across to her and got in a crouch in front of her. Her head was tipped slightly forward, and the tissue was pressed firmly against her nostrils. I took time to look over the rest of her outfit. I had nearly died when she came out. I only tripped over the rug, making a fool out of myself.

She had a pair of ripped up jeans that were tight in just the right places. She had a black long-sleeved shirt under a dark blue blouse type thing. It was left unbuttoned though. She had on a pair of black velvet shoes, with a flat bottom and traces of dark blue that seemed to make the whole thing fit. Not to mention her hair. She had it down so it was flowing crazily beside her face, but it looked super hot and sexy. Then she had topped the outfit off with a Pirates hat. It was black with a white line at the brim and a pirate holding two hockey sticks on the front. I didn't know who the pirates were,but my guess was a hockey team.

I looked back up at her and reached for another tissue. The one she was holding was bleeding through. I didn't even know why her nose was bleeding. It seemed to happen when she got either really stressed or scared. With David it was both, but the dreams, from her reaction, I took it as scared. The bleeding happened though, when she was trembling...so...scared is the most likely. But, then again stress might.

"Your nose bleed a lot?" I asked as I handed her another tissue.

She took it from me and placed it right were the other was. "Sometimes." She replied with a shrug.

"Sometimes? As in...?"I prompted helpfully.

"As in...sometimes. Two or three times a week, every day, every other day, once a month. Just...depends." She was quiet for a second. "Sometimes." She shrugged again and pulled the tissue away, wiping around it then tossing them both in the trash bin in the corner.

"How about nightmares?" I asked quietly.

She froze...but not at what I had said. There was a banging at the door. A really loud one. Like...the whole door rattled making me wonder if it was going to fall off.

"Shit." She half mumbled, half whispered from beside me, taking a small step back.

"Grab your bags." I instructed, striding to the door. She was usually the strong one, but here...here she was weak. No, not weak. Vulnerable. Here, people knew her and she had to deal with them. Here, she had fears, making her seem more human. Not that I ever though she wasn't, but...she was good at everything, gymnastics, guns, fighting, and even awareness. Here, she stumbled, tripped, made mistakes. She was scared here though. I didn't like that.

I stood next to her holding one of her bags. I waited until after the knocks died down to open the door. David was standing, hand ready to know,looking furious.

"Car-" He was cut off from his shout as I grabbed him around the neck with my free hand and walked him backwards, slamming him into the wall officially knocking the wind out of him. His feet were dangling a couple inches from the ground as I spoke in a cool, deadly tone. "Now you listen, and you listen good. Cara, is leaving here. Forever. She will not be at your wedding. You will not contact her in anyway. Do not even try to find her. You will not be able to. You will call the school, and tell them that she will not be in school anymore. She transferring. Got that?"

"y-yes." He struggled to get out.

"Good." I said and dropped him, motioning for Cara to follow me. We went up the stairs and out the front door without looking back. This would be the end of her old life, and the start of anew one. Except of course the unfinished business that she had with Jon.

We hopped into the SUV and sped off towards the hotel.


	14. Gang Territory

We arrived at the hotel a few minutes later and I parked the SUV. Between the two of us, I got all of my bags into the room. Lester sat himself on the bed to start checking his weapons, and I grabbed my makeup bag and my weapon bag, then headed into the bathroom. I redid my makeup and brushed my hair before opening up my small weapon bag and sorting everything out. With everything attached I had a total of five guns, four knifes and two bottles of pepper spray. If you count a nail file as a weapon, I would have that too.

I zipped up my make up bag and headed back out to the main room. Lester was sprawled out on the bed relaxing but looked up when I came in. "Hey beautiful."

"Hey." I said trying to feel the confidence that the guns would normally give me. I wasn't feeling it. Gang territory was not somewhere I liked to hang out. Or go through. All I knew, was that crossing through or hanging out in it, looking different, would get you into a lot of trouble. But today, I had to go into it. For a period of time. Jon. He's part of the gang there, so I knew that I had to go in there. I had to talk to him, know that he wasn't going to bother me in the future, and possibly get revenge. Not kill him, no, that would be to nice and easy. I was going to shoot him in the foot. Nah, the shoulder. That takes time to heal, and therapy. Okay,fine maybe I'm not going to shoot him..but I am going to do something.

"Cara?"

I jerked my head up. "Huh?"

"I asked if you were okay. Had a scary look going on there."

"Yes, just...thinking."

"More like planning." He retorted.

"Well, yeah...never mind. Lets go."

He was silent until we got to the car when he took a closer look at me. "Planning on invading a small country?" He asked.

I looked up at him with humorless eyes. "Get in." I growled, suddenly quite angry. No, not at him, at Jon. He had made me suffer. He actually gave me the best thing thats happened to me. I'm a better person. Stronger. With out him, I would of never met Lester. But still, I love what I have now, but he took it a little far. Violating me wasn't the right course to run...

"Slow down!" Lester shouted at me.

I was driving like normal, but with a glimpse at the speedometer, I saw that I was going 97-mph. What ever. "Scared?"

"Your going to kill us!" He said avoiding the question.

"That wasn't an answer. You scared Lester?"

He hesitated and I sped up, pressing 105. "Yes!" He finally shouted.

I eased off the gas til I was going a little under 65 and Lester relaxed into the seat more. I smirked. Lester...scared of speed driving. Ha!

When we pulled closer to gang territory, I shifted in my seat and turned on the Q to ease my nerves. It was quiet so you wouldn't be able to hear it through the window, but loud enough to hear well. I caught Lester looking at me several time, peeking out of the corner of his eye. Finally, I parallel parked on the side of a street in the neighborhood Jon would be in.

With Lester behind me,I set off down the street. There were a lot of people looking at us, some on phones,others talking to random people, and then Jon. I was debating weather or not he saw me, and stopped. Lester rested his hand at the small of my back, in a simple gesture of support. With a deep breath I stalked off towards him, taking time to notice his appearance. He was wearing ripped jeans like mine, and a black bandana around his head, he had a large and baggy green shirt,that was barely long enough to hide his boxers.

The conversation he was having with the guy stopped when I approached. He waved him off as he looked over at me. "What do yo want?"

"Why hi Jon, nice to see you too."

"Fuck off."

"Oh, but I though we were on more _intimate _terms after that night so long ago." I said in a cheery voice.

A slow smile slid across his face and he shifted towards me. "Oh, you remember that?" He paused scanning me head to toe. "You want a repeat? 'Cause I'd be glad to, I've got time, and I'd do a lot to hear those cries from you again. Most of the girls I'm with sound different though." He paused again, making a fake idea sign. "Oh wait, thats because they were willing."

I don't know how it happened, but as soon as he said it my left fist reeled back and I hit him in the right cheek bone. His head snapped back in response.

I would of thrown myself on him, crunching his throat in my hands, but Lester very quickly latched onto my arms, and waist, and pulled me into him. "Don't do it." He said into my ear.

Panting, I tried struggled to get free for a second, then let myself relax and be restrained.

Jon had straitened himself and was glaring at me. "Feisty little thing aren't you?" He asked with a smirk.

"Watch it." Lester said from behind me. I had a feeling that restraining me was restraining him.

"You should probably leave." Jon commented. I don't know who he was talking to though.

"Why?"I asked generally curious.

"Because soon, there are going to be fifty gang members surrounding you."

"And your telling me because..."

"Because, when they get here, I wont be able to keep you to myself." Now, heres the thing. I couldn't tell weather he was serious or not. I knew they were going to be coming out, but the reason why...

"We were leaving anyways. I was going to tell you, don't try and look from me, you wont find me. Stay out of my life." I stated calmly as possible.

See, heres where I made my mistake. When I saw movement out of the corner of my eyes, I flickered my gaze to them. There were five or so gang members coming out of the buildings and heading towards us slowly. But, the mistake was taking my eyes from Jon's. He lunged forward, shoving Lester back, and tossing me into a nearby wall. Both me and Lester were caught off guard, and Lester sailed backwards,hitting the ground and instantly being surrounded by the members. I on the other hand hit the wall, and started sliding down it, when Jon came back up and, grabbed me by the lapels of the shirt,dragging me back up.

"You willing this time?" He whispered then kissed just below my ear. He had my hands roughly grabbed at the wrist with one of his hands, and pulled slightly above my head. I pulled at my hands, trying to free them, but failed miserably as his grip tightened even more. With my hands immobile, I tried my legs. He, of course, caught on and pressed himself even closer, enough so that I could feel _him _pressing into my stomach. I growled at him, trying not to cry at the same time. He smirked and licked the shell of my ear. Yuck.

The hand that wasn't holding my wrists slid from my left hip, up to my abdomen, and slid his hand around to the small of my back, pressing me closer. After a second, he moved the hand lower, to just under my ass, so that he picked me up. I yelped, and slammed me against the wall again, then continued with my ear while I zoned out.

I glanced over his shoulder towards Lester, who was trying to fight off six gang members. He kicked his leg out, sweeping two more to the ground. Four to go. He continued fighting them, two at a time, because thats how they came at him, in sets of two. When they were all down, more started coming out of buildings very, very slowly.

He looked over and our eyes met,mine pleading for help, his frantic, but turning angry when he saw me. With a quick glance at the guys approaching (still slower than sloths) he turned back towards me and started running over. I let out a sigh of relieve and Jon stopped what he was doing. Finally. He had been kissing along my jaw line, and back at the other ear.

He pulled back a bit then leaned in and harshly crushed his lips to mine. I whimpered, and my body started to crumble.

A rush of air filled my lungs and I hit the ground, within seconds, there were large warm hands under my arm pits that hauled me up and started half carrying/half dragging me to the car. Turns out they were Lester's. He pushed me in the drivers seat, and all the way across the console to the passengers seat. He got in after me, but stayed in the drivers seat and rolled the engine over, throwing the car in reverse and slamming it out of there.

After five minutes, he slowed a bit, and we eased into the hotel lot. Apparently we had been going really fast.

I hadn't even moved from the seat when the passenger side door was opened. I looked up, still somewhat paralyzed, at Lester holding the door open. He had saved me. If he wasn't there,he would of done it again. No matter what I do for training, I'm supposed to be able to get out of that situation. But...I couldn't and...he saved me. A tear slid down my cheek and I felt my jaw start to tremble.

Lester's eyes widened, then his face softened and head scooped me up out of the seat, shutting the door with his hip. He carried me to the elevator and I just buried my face in his neck, my arms around his neck. He stopped briefly to open the door to the room, and then to shut it, but swiftly set me on the bed and crawled in next to me,nudging me farther over. He pulled me into him, and just held me.

The same thing ran through my head, over and over, like a CD set on repeat. _Defenseless. Saved me. Again. _

I cried for all I was worth, and until I had nothing left to cry, and then, I just sniffled and hiccuped. My last conscious thought was _Stupid tears._

_Lester's POV_

He had her pinned to the wall, her hands above her head, body pressed so tight that she could not move. He had her off the ground, I could see where her legs were intended to be wrapped around his waist,but instead, she let them dangle lifelessly. I was furious, so I glanced at the guy moving impossibly slow at me, and ran towards them. I was almost there when I heard her whimper. He had pressed his lips to hers, and she was withering underneath him. I ripped him off her and practically dragged her to the SUV. Once in I started driving. Really fast. I like speed, just not when 18 year olds are the ones speeding. I got there in five minutes and immediately hopped out and went to her door. I opened it, and she looked up at me. As if in slow motion, emotions washed across her face, then her eyes filled with tears, timing with the trembling jaw. Uh oh. I don't do to well with tears. So, I did the only thing I could think of, I simply scooped her up and carried her all the way to the room. I set her on the bed but laid down with her pulling her tight against my chest, while making soft, soothing sounds.

By the time she had stopped crying, my shirt was thoroughly wet and she was just shaking. I kissed the top of her head and re-ajusted my head on hers. I relaxed against her and felt her do the same. Her breathing evened not to long after and I carefully disentangled myself from her and headed to the bathroom. Of course I had just shut the door and was going to go to the toilet when I noticed that not only was my shirt wet, but bloody. I grimaced and peeled it over my head already half way out the door. I dropped my t-shirt on top of my bag and walked around the side of the bed to where she was facing. Sitting on the side of the bed, I saw the track of blood from her nose down her chin and soaking into the sheet.

This was not going to be good. I needed to change the sheet and that would mean moving her. With my plan decided, I got a washcloth and wet it a little, then gently wiped clean the blood from her face, and tossed it aside. Then, I moved to the opposite side of the bed and pilled that half of the sheet off before loosely wrapping my arms around her and placing her on the side of the bed with no sheet. I had kept the blankets around her though. Next, I pulled the sheet the rest of the way off and tossed it aside. I found a new sheet in the bathroom and slid it on the first half, then started carrying her to the other side, when she shifted. At first I thought she would go back to sleep. But she didn't. Her breath hitched and she went as stiff as a board in my arms. Her eyes were still closed but anybody who couldn't tell that she was awake would have to be stupid. She was so stiff and tight muscled, she was almost shaking. More like vibrating.

I stayed frozen, still standing half way around the bed. I didn't do anything. If I were to loosen my grip, she'd either fall out or attack me. If I set her on the bed she'd freak. So, I just stood there thinking. After a couple more seconds, her nostrils were getting redder. Soon after, she had a small strip of red blood streaming out. "Shhhhhh. Cara,it's me, Lester. You remember me? Come on beautiful, shhhh." As soon as I called her beautiful, her face tinted red and her whole body relaxed, so much, that she almost fell through my arms.

It was totally accidental, to calm her down that way. I mean, I wanted to calm her, but I didn't think about simply talking to her. But, it worked, so, thats okay and good.

I finished walking around the bed and set her down in the middle. I sat on the edge, watching her finish waking up. "I'm sorry." She whispered before she was even all the way awake. She was blinking her eyes open, trying to fully wake up.

Instead of waiting now, I turned sharper towards her, and grabbed her waist,dragging her to me. "Cara. Don't do that to yourself. A reaction like that, it's not something you can control. Stop blaming yourself, okay?"

She sighed sagged her head a little. "It feels like my fault though, I mean, I froze up this time because I didn't know who was holding me, mainly because you don't smell like you usually do. And, I'm not saying you stink or smell bad, just..different. But...I keep freezing up on people. Nothing says I trust you like freezing up." She mumbled the latter.

"Hey...I know you trust me,otherwise you wouldn't of given me my cell back, let me come, or introduce me to your mom. Your more secretive than Ranger,yet I know more about you than I do Ranger. I trust you and I know that you trust me, and I know that I don't want to lose that trust." I said leaning over to press a kiss to her temple. I don't know where it came from,kissing her that is. She was just mauled again by Jon, and I kiss her. Smart one Santos. Instead of freezing though, she seemed to lean into me. I had kissed her head before, but never skin.

I would of apologized,but it would of been useless seen as, she was already dozing off. I smiled lightly and laid her down, turning her so that her head was on the pillow. I puled the blankets up over her, and tucked her in. I looked down at her. She was out like a light. It was only five thirty, so I was pretty sure that she would wake up later for food. I stepped into the bathroom and shut the door again. This time, I only had to take off my pants, boxers and boots. I turned the water on, and stepped in under the spray.

She had said I smelt different. I hadn't even realized it. Something she had learned to do, smell. She used the scent of people to identify who someone is, or at least if she knows them. I mean, a scent can be just as identifying as a look or voice right?

After the shower, I shook my hair, sending wet drops everywhere. I wrapped a towel around my waist and exited the bathroom towards my bag. I got out sweats and anew pair of boxers and changed into them in the bathroom.

I sat on the edge of the bed, watching her sleep. Her breath was even and her face was relaxed showing the worried female under the mask she'd put up. I pushed the hair out of her face, brushing the back of my knuckled against her cheek. I sighed. She was so...antsy. She didn't like freezing up, but she also didn't like it when people she didn't know touched her in anyway. I remember the first day I saw her in the gym. Her and Ranger were sparring. That was the first time I'd seen anybody, not Tank beat him. Tank had won a few times, mainly because he is a Tank, but she just hopped around on the mat. I crowded around when she was getting into it, unfortunately, she was also getting very uneasy. Her stance changed when she saw us. She went from 'I'm playing around' defense, to 'I have to make sure no one kills me' defense. She turned more, so that she had her back to the wall, not touching it, but nobody was behind her there, I also noticed that her tricks she was doing, gymnastics , she would over step because she was looking at us. I felt bad that she was so nervous.

The next time I saw her, I was on control room duty (again) when Ranger brought her down for the first time to work. She had the most petrified look on her face. She stepped back into the elevator sucking in air. I saw Ranger hand her a gun after coming back. She looked at him for a second, then checked it and slid it in the waist band of her cargos. The way she walked though. Like someone would jump out at her any second. She was silent walking no doubt, but she was constantly, looking around, reassessing the area, checking for monsters in the corner.

I was taken from thought when the bed shifted. I looked at her, focussing in reality. "Hi." She croaked.

"Hey beautiful. Hungry yet?"

"Starving."

"I'll call for food." I told her, already standing.

I used the phone to order room service. I sat on the bed and waited, seen as, half way through the call to room service the shower turned on.

I can't possibly imagine what she went through, that day, in the ally, where Jon took her innocence away, the time and place where she lost her chance to be a teen. She lost her chance to live. I don't get why he did that though. I don't get how someone could take something so important away from someone. I mean, I get that she's a beautiful person, but, what Jon did to her, it took away some of her spirit. But now, now she was struggling to piece her life back together,to take back and earn back what he took. And she was doing a pretty good job of it. She took training, and got back into gymnastics, but one thing that she did that got her the most on course, was that she didn't care if her mom or David believed her, she knew what had happened and dealt with it, but, in their defense, I don't think that she told them, and she didn't go for professional help, that might of at least help with the nightmares. But now, the nightmares were my problem, and I was going to help her. Not that I knew how. All I knew, was that she used her sense of smell, feel, and sight to determine if their okay. she doesn't judge it by their looks, but she can tell if they're a friend by look, touch and smell. Like her smelling me. It's like she heard my voice and it was okay. So, what to do about it? I don't know, maybe if I try something new at night...

"Hey Lester." She sang out, exiting from the bathroom wearing something so different from everything else, that it shocked me. She had on pj pants that were white with yellow and pink stripes running up and down. It was a thin material, and she had a simple t-shirt on. Like I said, so different, you'd never guess that it was her. Her hair was in a messy bun up high,a few of the shorter hairs were framing her face, making her look hotter than usual. Not that easy to do...

"Hey beautiful. Nice outfit." I said with a true smile. She blushed around her smile and walked over, plopping down beside me on the bed. "Come here." I said, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her into me. I didn't miss that she was without a gun, any more than the fact that her pants were so see through that I could see through them, able to see the lines of her underwear. "So, I take it you feel safe?"

She cringed. "Not really, but, I'm trying."

I smiled, really, really big, and squeezed her tight to me again. She's trying, trying to show me that she trusts me. That thought made my smile grow and I pressed a kiss to her temple again.

"What?"

"Nothing,it's-" I was cut off by a knock at the door. I felt her hand go to her back, then stop and she took a deep breath, and stood. I had my gun out and walked towards the door, and looked through the peephole. It was a man in black pants, a white suit with a black pow tie, and he had a tray. Room service. I opened the door, still holding my gun, but behind my back so I didn't scare him.

I shut the door after giving him a tip, and taking the tray in with me. I'd pay for this at the same time I would pay for the room. I wasn't going to let her pay for it all...

"Mmm, smells good, what'd you order?" She asked, suddenly right next to mw. Unfortunately, I was all to aware of that.

"Chicken, and rice, and...water."

"Works for me." She said shrugging.

I smiled again, and dragged the tray over to the bed and we sat down. I watched her pick up her water bottle and look at it, then twist it slowly. It was strange, like she was waiting for something...

The click, the one that says it hasn't been tampered with.

Smart, very cautious too.

The chicken was very good, all of it was.

We both set our bottles of water on the night stand and I pushed the tray towards the door, out of the way. It was nine, and tomorrow we were driving back, so we decided that it was time to hit the sack. I got in on the same side as I had the first time, and she got in on the other side. I silently took a deep breath a slid my hands around my waist, pulling her into me while being hyperaware of anything that would show that she was uncomfortable. All I got was a small sigh as she snuggle deeper into my chest.

Ooh yeah, this was good, this was really good, I thought with a small smile, as I relaxed into sleep.

Sorry I took so long to post, but, it's up now, so please review. the next chapter will be them in the car..or I'll end it here, but I still haven't figured out how she got in the middle of the road.

R&R!!!

Peanut16


	15. Lucy, I'm home!

I woke up squished to a warm chest. The scent of Lester overwhelmed me, and without second thought, I sighed with content, snuggling closer and drifting back off to sleep.

The next time I woke up, Lester was running his hand in small, light circles across the small of my back. My face was buried in his neck. I could feel his pulse throb, and it relaxed me even more. I sighed again. I had to get up.

I felt and heard Lester start chuckling. "Morning beautiful."

"Morning. And I'm anything but beautiful right now." I said smiling and pulling away and starting to roll over. Suddenly I was caught between the bed, and a very good smell ing Lester. My breath didn't hitch, my muscles didn't tense, but what did happen, was me leaning up and pressing my lips to his.

He ran his tongue along my bottom lip, and I opened my mouth letting it in. All coherent thoughts were gone, and I felt my hands slide into his shirt, pulling him closer.

When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathing heavily. Lester hung his head and I instintily felt bad. "I'm sorry." I whispered.

His head pulled back and he looked at me, blank face in place. "What for?"

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I shouldn't have..."

"Don't be sorry for that, god, if anybody should be sorry it's me, I should know better."

"I kissed you." I commented.

"Yeah, but I kissed back."

"Yeah...we both did so we're even. No harm done, I know I'll live."

He smiled. "I can live with that."

He kissed my forehead, and rolled off me. "You can go take your shower, and get dressed, I'll go after." Lester said, nodding towards the bathroom door. I flashed him a smile, and grabbed a few things from one of the duffle bags, before heading into the bathroom.

_**Lester's POV**_

I hated myself. I couldn't believe that I hadn't stopped, and what was I thinking getting on top of her, putting her in a position like that!? I sighed and sat down on the bed. The water started at the same time, and I laid down on my back. I had to get it together, I didn't want to push her into anything she wasn't ready for.

I'm not sure how long I laid there, but I was taken from thought when the bathroom door opened. Cara stepped out wearing brown cargo pants, a brown t-shirt that was tied up in the back, revealing a sliver of skin, her black DC's, and she was shaking her hair out. When she flipped her head back upright, and shook her hand through it, also using the towel to help dry it a bit.

My mouth went dry.

11393

A good five hours later, we were entering Trenton with Ba Dumb By The Black-eyed peas, blasting through the speakers of the SUV. We had stopped lunch at a small rest station, and stopped a few other times to go to the bathroom, and get some snacks. She got a large bag of crunchy Cheetos, and two containers of Ranch dip.

I noted that.

As we got closer to RangeMan, she spoke up. "I need to go grocery shopping, so I can drop you off at RangeMan now, or you can come with me and I'll drop you off at RangeMan when I'm done..."

"I've got the day off, so I'll come with you if thats okay." I said. No need to mention the fact that I had the day off because I was out with her. Plus, I wanted to see how she shopped for food.

She nodded. We pulled into a small grocery store, and we hopped out, locking the door behind us. I followed her into the store, walking not to far away, but just enough to give her some space.

She grabbed a cart and walked along the isles tossing things into the cart. By what she put in there, she could be a mini Ranger. She had filled most of the bottom with Salads, bananas, apples(red), watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, carrots, potatoes...then she got some blueberries, skipped past the strawberries, and headed towards the 'traveling the world' section. It was all healthy, but some looked really good. She three boxes of cereal, some protein shakes, and went on. Milk, eggs, bread, taco sauce sour cream...then she went to the medical isle and bought at least three ACE wraps, six instant ice packs, and then band-aids, gauze, soap, everything and beyond.

She got enough food to feed her for two weeks, . On her way up to the cash register, I noticed that she snatched a snickers bar and some sugar-free gum, before loading it all on to the conveyer belt.

WE PULLED INTO RANGEMAN not to much later, and she grabbed most of the bags, and out of thirteen bags, she grabbed close to ten of them. It looked heavy too. I grabbed the rest for her, and shut her trunk. Not only did helping her carry them up make it so that she didn't have to come back down, but it gave me a reason to be with her.

I followed her up to the fourth floor, and to the apartment, where I took the key from her, seen as it would make it hard to open the door with so many bags. She pushed the door open the rest of the way with her foot, and headed in, placing the bags on the kitchen counter. When she set the last one down, she stood backup, and turned around, with her gun drawn. Only then did I notice that Ranger was leaning against the wall in the kitchen.

Luckily, I thought o myself, it wasn't me there, I'd of been afraid that she'd shoot me, especially after the trip we just took.

"Welcome back, I was starting to think that you were going to stay there...like the outfit." He said to her, then turned to me and nodded. "Brought him back in one piece I see."

"I wouldn't stay there." She replied calmly. "I'm never going back." She mumbled as she started unpacking.

I leaned against an empty counter top that was out of the way so that she could walk around with me under foot, but still be able to talk to her. "So, how'd it go?" Ranger asked a few beats later.

"Okay I guess. I got what I needed taken care of...crap. I still have to grab my bags...I'll do that in a minute." She went back to unpacking, and I knew Ranger saw the medical supplies she packed into an empty cabinet.

"You planning on needing all that?" Ranger asked.

"No. I'm just prepared, and between gymnastics and fighting, anything can happen. Especially gymnastics. You'd be surprised at the amount of times I've sprained a wrist or ankle because I landed wrong, or, got the wind knocked out of me because I missed the bar when I jumped to it. Then theirs fighting. Where I went, sparring and practice weren't just getting tapped. Most of the time we were throwing each other across the room." She shrugged and finished unpacking.

_**Ranger's POV**_

She unpacked the rest of her things, and I noticed that she left out a big bag of Cheetos and Ranch dipping. She grabbed both the bag of Cheetos, and the Ranch Dip, and tossed them on the couch. "I'll be right back. I'm going to grab my stuff."

She started to leave, and Lester followed, saying something into her ear as she left.

I turned around, shaking my head lightly, and sat down on the couch. I had a feeling that they were more than just 'friends'. Their body language showed that. They seemed to understand each other better, making it easier to move around each other. He moved out of her way, and she stayed out of his. Coming in was the best though. They were smiling (first time I'd seen her smile too.) I'd seen Lester happy, but he had a certain twinkle in his eyes now.

Several minutes later, they returned, each carrying two bags, and a back pack. Lester set a black bag down by the door, which I'm guessing is his and they both carried the rest to her room. Looked like she cleaned out her house.

I expected them to come right back out, but it had been about a minute, and they were still in there together. I headed towards the door, and stepped in, instantly freezing in my tracks. Lester was holding her hips against the wall, and they were lip locked, eyes closed.

_**Cara's POV**_

He was teasing me lightly, silly little things. "Yeah?" I asked with a mischievous grin.

"Oh I think so." He replied, stepping closer and pressing me lightly against the wall with his hands to my hips.

"You really think that?" I said, my lips brushing against his.

"I do." He said, pressing his lightly to mine. In an instant, our lips sealed together, and my eyes fluttered shut with content. Then I felt something.

I opened my eyes, and saw Ranger standing in the doorway, arms crossed, looking anything but happy. I pulled back a little from Lester, and gave him another short kiss before mumbling his name.

"Mmmm?" He asked.

"Problem." I whispered.

"Oh really? And what would that be." He said, still taunting me.

"Me." Ranger injected, causing Lester to rip away from me and stand still as a board. "What the hell were you guys thinking?"

Neither of us answered.

"Lester. My office. Now." He turned to me. "Don't go anywhere." He said and stalked out.

"It'll be okay." Lester whispered to me, kissing my forehead and leaving.

_**Lester's POV**_

I entered his office with a knock. "Sit down." He said, his voice hard.

I did as told and sat down across from him.

"What were you thinking? She is a not ready for something like that-"

I cut him off. "I have been with her for the past two days non stop. I went to school with her, helped her with her parents and Jon. You have no idea what she's ready for. I have been testing her since this morning." I smiled sheepishly. "It was actually an accident. I had just...roller over onto her, and...she kissed me. I shouldn't of kissed back, but I did-"

"You didn't." He growled out, eyes furious and blazing with anger.

"God no!" I shouted , standing up. He thought I had actually gone that far with her. "Ranger. After that, _she _apologized to _me _for making _me _uncomfortable. I started teasing her since then. I am not stupid."

"Not implying that you are."

"Good. I'd make a threat but it'd be empty."

He smiled at that. I headed for the door and noticed him behind me. "I want to talk to you on the way."

I nodded and opened the door, heading to the elevator. "What about?" I asked once he had pushed the button for four.

"I hired someone new. No, your not fired, we just needed some more hands around the office working the machines."

"Okay..." I said skeptically.

"I'm telling you this because he has a bad track record. He's brilliant with computer's but he's fresh out of college and cocky. He's also has a bit of an over inflated ego."

I didn't get it. "So...?"

"So, try and keep him and Cara from meeting. He seems to think not only that all women are less talented than him, and that they all want him. He's been arrested for some pretty bad things, most to girls, weather their hookers, or the girl next door. Since it's mainly men here, it should be fine, but I'm keeping him as far away from Cara and Steph as humanly possible." I looked him in the eye, and studied him, then nodded curtly.

Suddenly I smiled at a random thought. "You should of seen her on the way back, listening to the music, not a care in the world. She was smiling, and... I don't know, it was nice to see her that way..."

_**Cara's POV**_

I waited on the couch for fifteen minutes before they returned. Yeah, they. Lester walked in and I stood, intending to go to him, and then Ranger followed him in, and I took two steps back.

"Don't worry, we're not in that much trouble." Lester said and smiled at me, and Ranger smirked.

"But, I do have some questions for you to answer." Ranger added in.

I nodded. "Okay."

He motioned for me to go to the couch and I did, grabbing my chips and dip. I sat criss-cross, and put the dip on my knee, while sliding the bag of chips between my legs. I pulled out my first chip, and rolled it in the ranch, then popped it in my mouth. "So, what do you want to ask me?" I asked, watching Lester relax into the couch.

"Firstly, where is this going."

"What going?"

He waved his hand between the two of us. Me and Lester looked at each other, locking eyes. After a moment of silence, Lester spoke, never breaking eye contact. "We don't know yet, we don't really have a word for it, but when we do, we'll be sure to let you know." He smirked a little.

Ranger nodded and proceeded to ask us a few more questions, these were more about what went on down there. He and Lester were starting to talk more by the end, every now and then they'd bring me in to it, but I was getting tired, and I had finished up all my Cheetos, so I turned a bit, leaning against his shoulder. I felt him shift me so that I was curled up in my lap, and kiss the top of my head. My eyes drooped a bit, and I yawned. The ride back here was about six hours long, and plus we'd been back for a good two and a half, three, making it close to nine. Normally I would stay up later, but, it had been a long day of driving, and I was plain tired.

I was almost off to the dream world, when I felt myself being lifted up.

_Ranger's POV_

She finished off her Cheetos, and Ranch dip, and looked like she was going to fall asleep. She turned herself, and leaned against Lester, drifting off. I watched in awe as Lester smiled down at her, and pulled her onto his lap, then kissed the top of her head, letting her curl up in his lap. We talked for about five more minutes before she started to stir a little. We both stood, and Lester carried her into the bedroom.

Watching at the door, I realized how much respect he had for her. He laid her down, and pulled all of the weapons off of her and pulled the blankets over her, setting the guns and knifes on the night stand. He kissed her forehead, and shut off the lights, coming back over to me. I nodded at him and he nodded back. A small sign of respect for what he did.

We sat back down on the couch. "That was nice of you." I commented.

"What was?" He asked.

"Leaving her weapons, putting her to sleep and not undressing her, you respected all the privacy and more when she wasn't able to take care of herself. You stepped up and took care of her."

"Oh." He said on a shrug.

We talked for a few more minutes before we were forced to stop. We had just started talking more about what happened at the school, when we heard a piercing scream.

I considered myself fast moving, and to have quick reactions,but by the time I was off the couch, Lester was out of sight. I quietly followed him to where I guessed he was. Cara's room. I could see her standing -armed - in a defensive stance. Lester was facing her, but it wasn't quite light enough to see each other. From my view I could see both of them, but they could not see each other. I walked over to the bed, and flicked on a lamp.

With the light on, I could see both of them, Cara standing with a knife in one hand, the other over her nose, and Lester across from her, hands up, walking slowly towards her. Since the light was on an he could see her, and she could see him. She lunged for the bathroom, tears filling in her eyes, and Lester met her action, catching her before she got there. He wrapped his arms around her, gently taking the knife from her, while keeping her head on his shoulder. The knife skidded my way on the floor, and I carefully picked it up and put it back on the night stand.

Cara started sobbing and mumbling something about wanting it to go back away. "Shhhhhh, your okay, I'm here beautiful. Remember, I promised you I wouldn't let anything happen to you." She nodded.

"I want it to go back away. Last night was the best nights sleep I've had in two years. My mom got used to my noise and stopped coming. I'm surprised that you still do, I mean, you know I'm okay."

"I'm not leaving you Cara. Just because I know you had a nightmare doesn't mean I know your okay. Plus, your not okay." Lester responded, sounding confident.

She seamed to sense that confidence, and nodded. "Come on, lets deal with the nose."

She nodded again, and pulled her hand away, revealing a trail of blood from her nose to her chin. Well shit. He must've seen this before, because I hadn't even seen the blood yet, and I wouldn't of guessed. Tank did tell me that she had a nose bleed, and all about that little encounter. That had worried me a bit.

_Lester's POV_

I led her to the bathroom gently, being careful not to spook her, and grabbed some toilet paper, and handed it to her. She leaned her head forward and wiped up the extra mess, then held it at her nose for a minute. When she pulled back, it had pretty much stopped bleeding, and she wiped at her nose again before tossing it in the bathroom trash.

Now that she was all cleaned up, I pulled her into a hug, wrapping my arms around her back and pulling her into my chest, making it impossible to move. I was full and ready for her to run, but she seemed to melt into me, relaxing her tense muscles. I pulled back and leaned my forehead to hers, locking eyes with her. I kissed her forehead and led her out of the bathroom and bedroom to the living room.

**More later:):) I'm having more fun now, I write mainly for fun, and sometimes I like what I produce, other times...not so much. I'll tell you now that the next chapter wont be out for a while, nor a chapter on any other story, because I have an incredibly busy schedule coming up, including practice for a duet I'm doing, an honor choir trip to six flags for the ****Great East ****festival, and my sisters concert. my sister's concerts on Wednesday the 30th. Practice is the 30th and 31st, and six flags is the 1st of June. We have a field trip grade wide soon, and our concert on the 6th of June. This is out later than expected, but I hope you enjoy!**

**Maybe a bit much, but I had to tell someone:)**

**R&R!:):)**

**Peanut16**


	16. Milton Who?

I woke up the next morning, wrapped completely in Lester. After cleaning up in the bathroom, me and Lester went back out, and talked to Ranger, I assured him I was okay, he told me to sleep well, and left, glancing at Lester on the way. Lester led me back to the room, and I quickly changed, then laid down in bed, him spooning me gently, and we fell asleep. Now I was totally wrapped in him. I had turned so that my head was on his arm, and from there we had wrapped around each other. Our legs were intwined, and we had managed to plaster our selves to each other.

He must've sensed that I was awake or something because he mumbled 'good morning'. I smiled and gave him a small kiss on his neck, then worked on untangling us.

When I finally got out, I headed strait for the shower, grabbing a pair of black cargo's and a RangeMan t-shirt. I stripped out of all my clothes and stepped in, adjusting the water temperature to something bareable.

Dressed, I headed back out to find my bed empty, I shrugged and slid on a pair of sock, then grabbed my boots and started lacing them up. There was a knock on my door.

Before heading there, I snatched a knife and gun from my night stand, but slipped the gun in the back of my pants. I looked through the peep-hole, and saw Lester standing in the hallway, dressed in clean black cargo's and a RangeMan shirt, along with his boots laced all the way up, and tight. I unlocked the door, and let him in. He smelt clean, and the scent of his body wash was stronger than usual, but not over powering.

I smiled at him, and led him in. I heard him shut and lock the door behind us. I could feel him slowly walk up behind me, getting in close. He used his hands to turn me around so I was facing him, then pressed his lips lightly to mine, but pulled back before it went to far. "That was for this morning." He told me, then leaned down again, and pressed his lips to the side of my neck gently. When he pulled back up, he smiled at me.

"What was that one for?" I asked slightly breathless.

"That was returning the favor."

I made it to my desk by eight, and started up the computer. There weren't very many files in my inbox, so I had all of them finished by noon. Most of them were just doing background checks, filling out some information, and highlighting anything important, but one of them I had to dig a bit deeper to find out about him. I'm pretty sure this guy was a skip. Once done them all, I went off in search of Lester.

I found Lester in the control room with somebody I'd never met before. When Lester saw me, the other guy was faced away, and he gave me light kiss, telling me that he was off in a few minutes and to wait for him in the break room. I nodded and headed off towards there. Lester walked in as promised, seven minutes later.

_Lester's POV_

I had control room duty with the new guy. Ranger was right, he had an over inflated ego. For the first hour and a half, he talked to me nonstop about how men at his other job envied him, and women were at his feet. I tried not to laugh.

Around noon though, Cara came by. Milton (the new guy) was turned around, facing away, and I took the oppertunity to give her a small kiss, and tell her to meet me in the break room. I heaved a small sigh of relief when he turned around and she was out of sight. the next thing he said scared me.

"Man,sucks that this place has no hot girls, I mean, mmmm, the way I'd make 'em beg for me." He said, licking his lips and shaking his head lightly. It was just more incentive to keep Cara and Steph from him.

I finally got off and saw her in the break room. The first thing I did was give her a big hug, tucking her head under my chin. I pulled back and she cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "I need to talk to you about something." More like someone. "Come on." I said, looping my arm around her waist and pulling her up against me as we walked towards the elevator.

I got in the elevator with her, and I pulled her closer, pushing the button for the forth floor. The doors were almost shut when Milton slid in. I pulled Cara behind me in attempt to hide her from him. "Hey man." He greeted. I could feel him stop as his body language and stance changed. "Who's that you got there?"

I restrained myself, and silently waited for the elevator to get to the forth floor. When it binged a second later, and the doors started to open, I started getting out, keeping Cara on the opposite side as him. We were almost all the way out and free, when Cara suddenly jerked back. I thought that she had stopped so I looked back at her and saw that Milton had grabbed her arm, yanking her back.

_Cara's POV_

I stiffened as I felt him latch onto my arm, yanking me back. It was the guy that Lester had Control room duty with. He had a dark look to his eyes, and it scared me, it was a look like Jon's, just worst. It was more than a look of just fun. It had a mix of pride in it, and that made me shiver.

"I don't believe we've met." He said, jerking me towards him again, my other arm becoming free from Lester.

"Let me go." I warned.

A sick smile spread across his face. "Or what baby? You gonna hit me? Go ahead, take your best shot." He said, tapping his hand to his cheek.

I stiffened when he called me _baby_, then reacted out of fear, quickly jerked my arm free of him and punching him in the jaw, then I kneed him in the groin, causing him to bend over in pain. With him down, I stepped around him so that my thighs were around his neck, and squeezed until he passed out. Once he was down, I staggered away with a slight gasp.

I felt arms go around me, and I went to defend myself, but stopped when I sensed not only with smell, but with sound. He was whispering something in my ear, "Shhh, calm down, you need to breath." He was walking backward with me, slowly leading me farther from theguy on the floor, and closer to my apartment. Somehow, he managed to get me all the way into my apartment, and shut the door. I faintly heard the door lock click in place.

I was pretty sure that I was clinging to Lester, but at this point, what I _was _clinging to could've been an elephant. I was trying desperately to get control, and regain my composure, but everything seemed to be spinning, and I didn't know what to do. As my vision grew darker, I struggled more to stay consious.

_Lester's POV_

I pulled her away slowly and carefully to her apartment. I locked the door, and turned to her, holding onto her a bit more due to the fact that she was wobbling around as if on stilts. Her eyes were fogging over a little, as if confused or scared, and her nose pinkened. Just like the night before, a small stream of blood ran out, giving away that she was scared.

Suddenly, her whole body sagged and her eyes fluttered shut, not only making me catch her, but scaring the shit out of me.

I scooped her up better, and carried her towards the bedroom. I placed her in the middle of the bed, and left only to grab a tissue. I dabbed the blood away, and threw the tissure to where ever. I smoothed the hair out of her face, but left my hand on her cheeks, gently caressing her cheek.

There was a knock at the door, and with another glance at Cara, I stood and headed to the door, one hand behind me completely ready to pull out my gun. The peep hole showed Ranger, so I opened the door, and let him in, heading straight back into the bedroom. I didn't want to leave her for to long and have her wake up on her own.

I saw Ranger in the doorway and looked up. "How she?" He asked, looking over at Cara.

I stared at her before answering. "I don't know." Was my desperate answer. "I don't know what to do. She trusts me enough to let me get in close, but if someone she doesn't trust even a little even touches her, she breaks down."

He nodded for a sec. "Are you sure that him touching her is the only thing that set her off. I was with Tank in the control room when it happened, and I was thinking it was the name he called her."

I thought back. _Or what baby? _"Baby?" Thats when it clicked so to say. "Your right, it was baby. Jon called her baby." I looked back down at her.

After five minutes of silence we saaw her start waking up. Ranger had moved to a chair and was sitting up watching.

She shifted again, then whimpered and shifted again. Since she had rolled onto her side, I had access to her back. I reached my arm around her and started rubbing her back while making soothing sounds. "Cara? Come on beautiful, wake up for me."

I could tell that it was all helping because she shifted again, just this time there was no whimpering, and finally she opened her eyes, and they instantly locked with mine. Suddenly, tears starting springing to her eyes, and leaking out. A sob racked her body, and she curled up. I quickly scooped her up in my arms, and held her to me, letting her cry like there was no tomorrow. I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt, making my painted on shirt plaster it's self even closer.

I continued to hold her until she was just sniffling.

_Okay, that was it for now, I'll write more later. Maybe when my muse finds me...:)_

_R&R_

_Peanut16_


	17. Chicken Nuggets

I was disoriented when I woke up, stretching to loosen up my tight muscles. I remember holding onto Lester and crying, then waking up. My assumption being that I had fallen asleep.

Looking around the room for the first time since I'd waken up, I noticed Lester sitting in the chair by the bed, a blanket tossed over him. I smiled sadly, he had stayed with me the entire time, and no matter how flattering that was, I felt bad he had wasted so much time.

With an idea, I silently crawled towards him, when suddenly the blankets pulled off the bed under me, and I took an extra step off the bed , and yelped in surprise as I fell the short drop to the ground. I hit to the floor with a ruffled thump.

As I worked at untangling myself from the sheet that I had been wrapped up in when I fell off, I felt Lester pick me up. I always felt like a kid when he picked me up, it was like I weighed nothing. I DIDN'T way nothing, I was getting close to 125lbs of NO nothing. In other words, I was almost 125 lbs. He picked me up like I was 5lbs. Not cool.

I found myself seated on his lap next, only known by the warmth under me as well as one of my sides. I tried helping him untangle me, but ended up with my hands knotted in it some more.

Light streaked through the sheet as he peeled it from my face, a smile on his lips. "Morning."

I tried glaring, but couldn't find anything there to glare at, sure, he was laughing at me, but he HAD stayed with me…

With a small smile, I mumbled good morning, and started randomly yawning.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine." I said shrugging.

He looked me in the eye. "Have you ever been told what FINE means?"

"No. What?"

"**F**reaked out **I**nsecure **N**eurotic and **E**motional."

"Okay then…" I dragged on, I was technically fine. That 'kinda fit too. That guy had freaked me out; and I might be considered insecure. Neurotic…I'm always neurotic. So, that left emotional, and I was emotional. "Whatever. I'm hungry." I said, changing the subject. "What time is it anyway?"

He glanced at his watch. "Close to eight."

"No wonder I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since my snack last night." I stated, hopping off the bed and promptly falling to the floor. I was still wrapped up in the blanket, so when I tried to take a step my feet got caught.

I grumbled as I pulled myself up and pushed the blankets to the floor. I headed for the kitchen, Lester right behind me. I had to make dinner.

I opened the fridge and started digging out a few thing, salad in a bag, a few dressings, baby cut carrots, and ketchup, then got frozen chicken nuggets out of the fridge. I popped most of the box of chicken nuggets in the microwave, and times it, then turned to Lester with a proud smile. See, I could use the microwave.

"Would you care to join me in my gourmet meal of chicken nuggets and salad, along with carrots in ranch dip?"

He smiled brightly and, "I'd love to." Was his reply.

"Good." I nodded, moving over to the counter where the salad bags were. "Do you like chicken nuggets?"

His lips twitched. "Yes."

"Good." I said again. "Because it's one of the few things I can make. Lets see, salad from a bag, Mac and cheese from a box, canned soup, cooking noodles…that's about it, but I could probably thing of a few more things later, when I wasn't so HUNGRY."

I poured the salad into two bowls, and set one on each side of the table, then set a bowl of carrots, and a small bowl of dip in the center, then checked on the chicken nuggets. They were almost ready, but it was close enough to the time to flip them, so I flipped them, and pushed the button for two more minutes.

Surly enough, two minutes later, it binged and I pulled them out with a towel, and set them on two plates, setting one next to each salad bowl. I made sure all the condiments were out, ketchup, and salad dressing, and realized we didn't have drinks. "Water juice or milk?" I asked Lester.

"Water please." I nodded and pulled out two glasses and filled them with water. I handed him one and set the other by my plate.

We both sat down, and dug into to our food. For a good five minutes, we were both silent, just eating, when suddenly, he broke the silence. "Thank you."

I stared at him for a millisecond. "What?" I sounded very, very dumb.

"Thank you. Thank you for trusting me a bit, for giving me some leeway, and thank you, for the friendship that you have given me."

"Your welcome." _I think_, I added silently.

The rest was in complete silence, but it seemed to pass quickly, and soon I was cleaning up the dishes, simply running water over them and piling them into the dishwasher. "Movie?" I asked.

He nodded, and I followed him to the living room. He sat down on the couch, and I went to my room, and grabbed one of the bags. I dug through it until I came up with a few of my movies. I brought the small container out. "Have you seen 8 Mile?" I asked him, holding it up.

"Nope. What is it about?"

"It's the movie about Eminem and his life before his music career and how he got to where he is."

Half an hour into the movie, I was almost all the way asleep. I had found my way mysteriously into his lap, and was cuddled to his chest. I felt him carry me to the bedroom and sat me down on the bed. I felt my eyes shut themselves as I fought off sleep, but I yawned and my body instinctively curled up.

I could feel Lester move to behind me, leaning over me. He pulled the blankets over me, and suddenly, his warm breath was at me ear. "I love you." He whispered, just as I fell into a deep sleep.

It was a dreamless night.

11393

_That was all for now, I'll keep going, but I decided to post something since not many other things are going to be posted right now. __JJ_

_Peanut_


	18. Trust Me

_Lester's POV_

Okay, so I wasn't exactly a brave person when it came to feelings. I didn't trust people easily, and I was very gaurded, making me good at what I do. Thats why Ranger hired me. Being gaurded though, doesn't make having a love life easy. I'm normally just the one night stand, steriotipical player. I don't keep track of the girls I've slept with, and I'm not very proud of that, but it's in the past.

I told her though. I don't even think she'll remember, but I told her none the less.

I woke to the sound of my alarm clock, and I quickly sprung out of bed and showered, dressing with equal quickness. I had just put on the last gun, and was opening my door when my cell rang. "Yo." I answered, stepping out of my apartment.

"It's me." Ranger said, his deep voice easily recognizable. "You going to see Cara today?"

"Just heading over there."

"You want to tell her about the destraction job tonight, see if she's up for it? Your in on it too, along with Tank, Cal, Zero and myself."

"Sure."

"Later." And the line went dead. I shrugged and shut my phone as I knocked on Cara's door.

She answered in full RangerMan gear. She was cocking a gun as she answered the door, and I smiled, playfully sticking my hands up in surrender. She shook her head and stuck the gun in the holster on her thigh. I could already see one on her boot and waist aong with a knife in each place. "Hey."

"Hey." I responded. "Ready?"

"Yep." She said, shutting her door. She started down the halway and I looped my arm around her waist, pulling her into my side.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

I glanced at her. I had told her what fine meant.

She caught my look and rolled her eyes. "I'm great."

I smiled. "Good. Ranger called. Theres a distraction job tonight? You up for it?"

"Definitely." She said with a bit of a smile.

By now we had entered the fifth floor, and I had to leave. I had a few skips to go after with Bobby. "Lester!" I heard Bobby call. I turned and saw him walking towards me. "Get your wussy ass over here."

I turned back to Cara. "I'll see you later." And I gave her a quick kiss. I jogged over to Bobby.

He held up the folders and I snatched one of them, flipped it open and started reading through it.

"Pussy whipped." He whispered in my ear.

"I am not." I argued.

"Are too."

I knocked on Clark's door for the second time. "Mr. Lois, bond enforcement, open up!"

"What the hell do you want?!" Clark shouted as he answered the door. He was about 5" 9', with black wirey hair, and matching wire framed glasses, and he was butt naked.

I stuck my foot in the door before speaking. "Bond enforcement, you missed your court date and we're here to bring you in to reschedule." I knew it wouldn't work, but I also knew that Bobby had the back door.

As expected, when I reached for him, he stepped back, attempting to shut the door in the process. The door bounced off my foot and smacked him in the head, sending him sprawling for the floor. I grabbed his arm and hauled him up, only to get bitten. I released him but gave him a hard shove. He stumbled, but didn't fall, and made way for the back door.

"Back door!" I shouted, alerting Bobby.

Seconds later, Clark crashed through the back door, and instantly found himself face first in the dirt. Bobby strattled him, pulling his arms around to his back and cuffing them.

I walked over and kicked him in the ribs, shaking my hand out. Little Fucker.

We got him wrapped in a sheet and to the station, and now we only had two more to go before I got to see her again.

Shit, I am pussy whipped. Not that I'd tell Bobby that.

_Ranger's POV_

I had called Lester and taken care of alerting them about the distraction job, and after talking to Bobby, Tank and Zero, making sure they knew...more like remembered, I headed off to my office to finish up some paper work. Lester and Bobby were out collecting the last of the RangeMan skips, and there were no meting scheduled for a while, so other than the distraction job at eight, I was clear. And I had a stack of unfinished paper work.

It was close to four-thirty, and I remembered Milton. The little scum. I was instantly angry. We needed to have a bit of a...talk, in the gym. I set off to find him.

I was going to kick his ass to the fucking moon.

"Milton." I barked, walking up behind him. He jumped.

"Yes boss?"

"Gym, now." I growled. His eyes widened slightly and he swallowed hard.

I turned and stalked off to the gym, stepping onto the sparring mat. I pulled ll of my weapons off of my self and dropped them beside the ring. Milton walked in a second later, and did the same.

We began.

_Cara's POV_

At five, I logged off the computer and headed to the elevator. About halfway there, I saw two people, one was Lester, jogging towards me, and the other was Milton. Lester caught up to me then, and I instantly cringed away from Milton, pressing into Lester so hard that it moved him an inch across the ground. My hand grabbed at the first thing I felt on my thigh, and since Lester was on my right (the far side of Milton) It was my knife that I grabbed. I slid it behind my back, keeping it out of his sight.

He (Milton) had several large cuts and bruises. All in all, he was in pretty bad shape. I had the best blank face possible on, but I could feel myself start to shake. We were still standing there, neither of us were moving for close to five full seconds.

I felt Lester stiffen slightly, and then an arm come around me, grabbing the wrist with the kife in it, and holding it still. "Calm down." He whispered into my hair. "He's not going to hurt you."

I took a slow deep breath, and waited.

We were still standing there. Several people had stopped and were watching, waiting for someing to happen.

We all were.

There were a few more tense seconds of silence before a scream ripped out of my throat and I turned away from Lester, knife and body in a ridged defensive stance.

Somebody, who I know knew was a RangeMan employee, had touched my knife and han. Suposedly, trying to take it from me. With my body back to Milton in surprise , he took advantage of it, kicking the knife out of my hand, sending it into a neerby cubicle. Since we were a small cross section of halways, there was a little more room, but not much.

"You made my life hell you bitch!" He shouted, lunging for me. I stepped out of the way with a small spin, grabbing another knife in the process. I kept it out of view from him.

When he threw another punch, I ducked under his arm, and made a small cut to his stomach. He was raging mad, and I could almost see the steam coming from my ears.

As he lunged at me again, I dropped my knife and let myself fall to the ground, catching myself in a position as if to do a pushup, but quickly flip my legs over my head, doing a sumeralut to the other side, grabbing my knife in the process. I stood back up. "You slippery fucking bitch. When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna fuck you til you can't talk no more."

I saw red.

Tensing, I felt myself start to shake again. Something warm ran from my nose, and I wiped at it with the back of my hand. When I pulled it back, I saw it was blood. Distracted, I didn't see him coming at me until he was about to hit me. I didn't want to be girlie liek a cheerleader, so I had avoided doing any sort of gymnastics. I had to show I could defend myself without gymnastics, but it was how I was taught, so I defended myself in teh first way I though of. My knife fell from my hand, and I threw myself into a backflip, but as soon as I landed, I jumped back up, and kicked him in the chest. He went ass first to the ground. I stepped over and placed my boot to his throaht to keep him down.

With my foot still in place, I spoke calmly but with an angry undertone. "Why is it exactly that pricks like you insist on threatning to 'fuck me'?It's not like I haven't had it happen already." By now, I had no control over what I was saying, and despite the fact that I knew there were others in the room...I kept going, letting my anger spew into it. "Seriously, your just like Jon, you threaten something, and don't comply with it until the other person has totally forgotten about it. Jon for instance, he threatened me something so close to that, it was almost word for word, but he didn't comply for almost a year. So, you know that Jon beat you to it? That fucking me til I can't talk has already been done!" A single tear rolled down my cheek.

"Here's a question for me, when you do 'fuck me', were you going to do it in an ally? How about on the way home from school?" I pressed my foot tighter to his throat, gaining small pleasure of seeing his face tint purple. "Sorry buddy, Jon already did."

I pulled my boot from his neck, and gave him a swift kick. "You know what I did after Jon? Nothing! I did nothing until I finally took the guts to take some classes, and get back into gymnastics." I gave him another kick to the ribs. " made something of myself, made my life worth something, and now, now I am trained. You'd never guess that a poor little girl like me was excepted to the arm Ranger's. I didn't even enlist, but I was getting pamflets for diferent places, one made out specially to me, telling me the bennefits of joining." I kicked him again. "So next time, before you hit on a girl, or pick a fight with someone, get. All. The. Facts. Straight." I said, punctuating each word with another kick.

And I started kicking him, and kicking him, and kicking him. I wanted to kill him, and somewhere deep down, I knew I shouldn't, but I was pissed, raging mad, I couldn't control myself.

I wouldn't of stopped, but arms that I knew were Lester's, came around me, locking my arms to my side, pulling me away from Milton, who was laying on the ground, fetal position. "Let me go Lester." I said struggling.

"Cara! Stop. Now." His voice was full of authority. "You cannot kill him. You got your revenge, now let him go."

I sobbed. "I can't."

He pulled me tighter to his chest, my back to his front.

_Lester's POV_

She was struggling to get free, but her body was also shaking, and I could tell that she was angry, but I needed her to calm down and stop fighting me.

Instead of stopping she groaned in frusteration, and put all her weight into making me let her go, back letting her self fall to the ground. I jerked foreward, and had to use all my strength to keep my arms around her.

I managed to get er up again, and I hauled her off towards the elevator. As the doors shut, I could see several RangeMen 'helping' him out of the building. With the doors shut, I let her go. She flung herself at the wall, but just slid down it.

_Ranger's POV_

I stood, watching her beat the shit out of Milton, I had no problem with it, just as long as he lived. I was glad when Letser pulled hre back, because now, we got to throw him out of the building. She wasn't being coopertive. Not only was her nose bleeding, soaking into her shirt, but she was shaking and sobbing a tearless cry.

I didn't know if they were going to do the distraction tonight.

I watched Lester get her into the elevator, then helped the guys get him up. "Milton." I barked, just for the humor of watching him jump. "Your fired."

With that, I headed to the control to check in, and see how Cara and Lester were doing.

She was on the floor of the elevator, and Lester had crouched own over her, I kept sound off, and watched him talk to her carefully. She wasn't moving, she was just sitting there, an angry look on her face. The longer he talked, the less angry she looked. Suddenly, her face broke out in a smile, and Lester smiled and nodded. He stood and held out his hand to her. She took it and stood up. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into him.

Lester pulled the stop button on the elevator to make it go again. I shook my head lightly at the two of them. They were quite a sight.

_Cara's POV_

Lester led me to his apartment for a change. First he brought me to the bathroom where he heped me get my nose all cleaned up, then he lead me out to the kitchen and sat in a chair. It was 5:30, and the distraction was at eight, so Lester said he was going to make me dinner after asking me if I was going to pull up the guts to do the distraction job. My answer: Hell yes.

"So, what would you like?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, anything."

He smiled. "I think I know something you'd like."

I watched him move around the kitchen with grace that I never had in a kitchen. I couldn't cook much, I mean, I could manage eggs, chicken nuggets, things like that, but if someone asked me to sepereate the egg white from the yolk, I'd have no idea how.

I had no idea what he was making, so I just sat, lost in though. It scared me how easily I could've killed that man, despite the fact that he deservered it, it wasn't right. I had strong morals, and a strong ethics code. I had never gone off and lost control like that. I needed to keep my control in check.

"Cara?"

I looked up, eyes wide. "Hmm?"

"I asked if you knew what you're going to wear to the distraction job."

"Oh, um, no, I'll have to look at what I have pull something together." Good question. I didn't really have much that would work. I knew I had a few tank tops and a mini skirt that my mom got me. Never wore it because hey, it's a skirt. Ew.

We ate together in most silence, except the ocasional question. I asked him where he learned to cook. He said the Ranger's and the Army.

After dinner, I excused myself to go get ready. I had an hour and a half to get ready. He walked me to my door, and kissed my forehead.

First stop was the bathroom. I took a 45 minute shower, shaving everywhere, and making sure that I was totally washed up. When I got out of the shower, I walked around in my underwhere for five minutes, trying to find that damned skirt. When I found it, I wiggled into it and looked for a shirt. I found a light brown tank to and pulled it on. It scooped low, and was thin, making it somewhat easy to see my padded brown bra.

I skittered into the bathroom to apply a thin layer of brown eye shadow, adding a tint of blue to it, then layered on a bit of mascara. I pulled my hair into a messy bun then smuthered on some lip gloss, and glitter, then headed back to my bedroom for the final chalange. Shoes. I looked at what I had. dark brown flip flops, cat boots, DC's, and a pair of neakers. I shrugged. Flip flops it was.

With a final look in the miror, I decided I would do. There was a knock on my apartment door ad I snatched my knife and peeked through the peep whole, then opened it. "Hey." I greeted.

Lester stood, gaping at me. "Holy siht." He mumbled.

I bit my lip, I was hoping that was a good thing.

I cleared my throat lightly. He locked eyes. "You look...awesome."

"Thanks...Um, I just have to grab my leg holster."

I turned to head for it, but Lester caught my arm lightly. I turned towards him, and he shut my door. "Trust me on this one, your leg holster will be visible in this." He said , stepping in closer. His lips brushed against mine lightly and I felt him press his to mine more firmly.. His tounge slipped in my mouth and my small knife clatterede to the floor, as I pulled myself closer. His hands were on my hips, keeping me in place, and the kiss grew demanding, and fierce, moving farther from the passionate one it started as.

The door opening pulled us apart. Ranger stepped in, two knifes in his hands. He held the blade and handed them to me. I set them on the table, and turned back to them. "I thought I'd come get you and give those back to you. I didn't interupt anything did I?" The smug grin on his face showed that he knew exactly what he had done.

"Nope, we were just heading out."

Ten minutes later, Lester had his hand up my shirt, taping the mic in place. "Good luck beautiful." He said with a quick kiss.

On the way they had briefed me on what to expect. This guy was slimy, and violent. His name was Martine Butling.

I walked into the bar and found all the exits and where everyody was. Lester was going to come in five minutes after and sit aways down the bar. Ranger had gone in seven minutes before me, and was at a booth in the back, pretending to get snockered. He wasn't atcually drinking anything really heavy, because Zero had come here an hour early and was playing bar tender. Tank was a bouncer with Cal. My skip was on a stool at the bar, and I walked around a bit, making a show of looking for someone.

Finaly, I sat down with a sigh at the only empty seat at the bar. Next to Martine. "Looking for someone?" He asked.

"Yeah, my date. He's six foot, short black hair, my skin tone. He had these shocking green eyes, and he's pretty hard to miss. We were supposed to meet here. I mean, I haven't _actually _met him before. It was over a dating program, and he described himself." I gave an exagerated sigh and mumbled that I just wanted to get laid. I heard Lester's breath hitch over the reciever and I glanced quickly at him. He had a beer in front of him and he took a long pull from it.

"Well, you know, I could help with that." Martine said.

"I don't even know your name."

"Martine, Martine Butling." He said, holding out his hand. I took it and flashed him a smile.

"Alyssa Wanterlyn." I replied.

I used a fake first name, but my real last name. The one stuck in Maine.

"So, Ayssa, what do you say?"

"Dance with me first." I said, hopping off the stool and pulling him onto the dance floor for a quick dance. It was a face paced, updeat song, and it gave me the opertunity to signal Lester that I was about to leave.

After the song ended, he grabbed my wrist, almost painfully tight, and dragged me off the dance floor towards the door.

Two stepps out, and he was hand cuffed. I gave him a fake smile and wave. Lester wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, and his mouth came down on my neck, gently placing open mouthed kisses on it. I saw Ranger, Cal and Tank come out from the bar, and I knew that each and every one of them saw us.

I laughed as his teeth grazed my neck.

His mouth Left my neck, and he whispered in my ear. "We're going to stay a bit if you don't mind. I have my car, so go ahead."

Ranger grinned and nodded. For that matter, all the guys were grinning.

I felt Lester start walking towards the bar, arms still around my waist. He walked me straight to the dance floor and we got right into the upbeat song. His hands slid down to the front of my hips, to a point where it could be onsidered innapropriat. He pressed me into his as we moved together to the beat of the song. For half and hour, we bumped and grined on the dance floor. On and off he was playing with the side of my neck, alternating sides as well. I had my arms up, wrapped around his neck, keeping him close.

I had a big goofy smile on my face. It was all so perfect. I felt...blissful.

He half carried me, half dragged me to the bar, where he sat down on a stool. I sat down next to them and he ordered a beer. I did the smart thing, and ordered a coke. He handed them to us, and I took a sip, letting the cool liquid slide down my throat. We both finished our drinks before going back out to the dance floor.

His hands found my hips, and I had mine around his waist, once again moving to the beat.

It was close to eleven by the time that we left. His laughing died off as he pressed me into my SUV. He stepped in lose, and I tilted my head up so that our lips touched. He pushed me harderup against the SUV, and one of his hands snuck up under my shirt enough to play with the clasp on the front of my bra. I felt him smile against my lips as he ran his hand back down rib cage and across my toned stomach.

His hand continued down til it was brushing the under side of my skirt. "Lester." I mumbled against his lips. "Lester." I said a little louder. "We're in a parking lot." He froze.

I felt his head drop. "I'm sorry. Come on, I'll take you back." With that, he opened the passenger side door and helped me in. He waked around to the drivers side door and got in.

Lester, really."I started. He cut me off.

"It's okay, I'm sorry I took it that far."

"I'm not." I bit out. "Lester, don't treat me like I can't make decisions for myself. If I wasn't happy about it, do you really think that I'd of let you?"

He didn't respond, but seemed to be thinking. "I guess not." He whispered as he pulled out of the parking lot.

That was then end of it for now.

When we arrived at RangeMan, Lester wrapped an arm around my waist and stepped into the elevator. I rested my head on his shoulder and took a deep breath, breathing in his scent. When the elevators opened to four, we stepped out and walked down the hall. He stopped at my door and I opened it. He pressed a kiss to my forehead and I was pretty sure he was going to leave.

I closed my eyes for the brief second, and took a deep breath. I caught his wrist, and he turned to face me. His eyes locked with mine and I stood there a second before tugging him towards me, pulling him into my apartment. I smiled a little.

"I'm a big girl." I whispered before leaning up and pressingmy lips to his. I felt him relax completely.

_Lester's POV_

I thought she was mad at me, if not for going that far with her, then because I _had _treated her as if she couldn't defend her self. I knew she could of course. "I'm a big girl." She whispered, looking me straight in the eye as she pressed her lips to mine.

Thank god, I thought as I kissed back, giving in as much as she. I felt her hand slide from my wrist as they bunched up on my shirt. I started walking foreward, pushing us both into the apartment, me kicking the door shut in the process. When we pulled back for air, I noticed that her beautiful eyes that were normally different colors, had taken a single shade of grey. I smiled.

A thought came to me. I knew she wasn't quite ready to go foreward, weather she thought so or not, because just when Milton threatened to 'fuck her' she tensed, and started shaking, and it even wentto the point where blood came out of her nose.

"You trust me?" I asked in a whisper, afraid that speaking to loud would break the mood.

"Yes."

"Okay, trust me." With that, I pulled her with me into the bedroom. I pushed her gently towards the bed, and kneeled down next to her. I laid my hands on her stomach and gently slid them up, dragging her shirt with them. As I slid my hands over her breast, I could feel her heart beating rapidly. I continued upwards until I pulled it off. I set it down. I gazed down at her, looking her in the eye. "Trust me." I repeated. She nodded, and I brought my hands down to her waist. I unbuttoned, and zipped her skirt, and tugged on the bottom, pulling it down slowly. She lifted her hips from the bed so I could pull the skirt down over her ass. I set the skirt on top of her shirt, and stood. Carefully, not making any sudden movements, I peeled my shirt off, then my pants, leaving me in my boxers.

I took a second to admire her. She was gorgeous, her stomach toned, sprouting a six pack that matched her entire body. She was completely toned, and her skin shined with glitter.

I pushed the clothes off the bed, and lowered by self down over her, giving her a small kiss on the lips. "Your beautiful Cara."

"You are too." She replied. I cracked out a smile. The term was handsom.

I tugged her up the bed til her head was resting on the pillow. I laced my fingers in hers, and brought them up so that her palm was settled over my heart. "You captured my heart without even trying. You make my heart race, and seeing you now, it makes my heart skip a beat. Your breath taking." I whispered. I gave her another gentle kiss.

"I'm glad you feel the same way, because I was seriously wonder when I fel in love with you. I couldn't say when it happened, but I was sure of it last night." She said.

I used a single finger and traced it down the side of her cheek, down her neck, and then down between her breasts, running it over a scar. I stopped at her belly button, and I leaned down to give it a kiss.

As I sat back up, moving to pull the blankets down, I noticed more scars down on her inner thighs, up on the edge of her cotton paties. I didn't say anything, because I had a feeling it was because of Jon, and right now, that was the lst thing I wanted her thinking about.

I pulled the blankets down, and crawled up next to her, then pulled the blankets over us, wrapping my arm around her.

_Okay, I wrote so much this time, I'm poud of it. I didn't want them to go to far but...you know...maybe not. :) R&R_

_PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!_

_Peanut16 _


	19. Mr Higgens?

Okay, so I WILL be continuing this story, along with Secrets, but they will both be going slower than slow, because A) it's summer, and I love the beach, B) My knee is feeling better, so I'm going to be doing more excersizes + what physical Therapy is going to make me do. I have/am getting over Petella Tendonitus, also known as Jumper's knee. I did that through basket ball, another of the many activities. My life is, Computers, Basketball,Gymnastics, Friends, Family, Nature, Spot&Powder(My cats). Oh, so I want to start running again, but with my knee hurt, I couldn't, but...I have started doing basketball again, and so, I think I can get back to the outdoors!:):)

So, on that note, enjoy the chapter.

**Chapter 19**

I woke up entwined with Lester. I smiled a little, and snuggled deeper against him, enjoying the feeling of him wrapped around me, skin to skin...minus the under garmets. Lester was warm, and safe, I felt less gaurded around him, and more like the old me.

I felt Lester awaken behind me, sensing the change in my body. He brushed my hair to the side, and started placing wet kisses on the back of my neck. He moved his mouth farther up until he was giving my jaw butterfly kisses. He turned me, and manovered himself so that he was holding himself up over me.

His tounge swept between my lips, and I gladly opened my mouth, joining the kiss with equal passion and lust. When we finally pulled apart, we were breathing heavy. He smiled and lowered his mouth to my shoulder, and placed a few more kisses there before nuzzling my neck.

After a couple seconds of silence, and when our breathing returned to normal, her rolled off of me, keeping one arm wrapped around me. "Can I ask you a personal question?" He asked quietly.

"Shoot." I responded.

He paused before speaking. "The scars." He said, half mumled, his hand sliding up to my breasts to run them along the slightly discolored embossed marks. "Here," he mumbled, then moved his hands down to my inner thighs, his thumb brushing against the underside of my underwhere. "Here," he said again, running his fingers gently across the upraised skin down there, before removing his hand, and bringing it all the way back up my body to my left shoulder. "And here." He paused again. "Are they all because of him and...that night."

I covered his hand with mine, and brought it to my lips to kiss the palm of his hand lightly. "Yes." I answered.

I didn't wear shorts or tanktops because of them, but with the distraction last night, I had too, and the funnything is, the skip didn't notice. The strap hid most of the scar on my shoulder, and the marks on my breast weren't visible, even through the thin material, and the skirt covered the ones on my legs...

Suddnely, I had one of those POP moments, where you remember to do something that you weresupposed to remember, and you hadn't.

Well, I hadn't tested my blood sugar in a couple days. I mentally hit myself for forgeting, and started moving to get out.

"Whats wrong? Where are you going?" Lester asked, tighting his grip on me.

I groaned. "I'll be right back." I said on a groan, and quickly told him about my pop moment. He nodded and let go, and I crawled from the bed, grabbing, and sliding on a pair of brown cargo pants by the side of the bed before going anywhere. There was more light now.

I snatched a t-shirt from my draws on the way to the bathroom, and slid it on before opening the over head cabinet to look for my small device. It wasn't there though, because I had brought it with me to Maine, so it was in my...backpack! I headed out of thebathroom and grabbed my backpack that I had packed in the first place, and dug around until I found the small travel kit. I brought it into the bathroom, stuck a strip in it, and pressd the small neddle on the strip against my finger, causing a drop of blood to land on the strip. Afer a minute, I looked at the read out. High. No shit, I hadn't been watching it very much...and I hadn't been running. Dancing at the club was the most excersize I had had since the one night I ran at the hotel. I glanced at my watch and descovered two things. One being that it was close to nine, and the other that it was saturday. Right. I knew that...right?

I must have been standing there in the bathroom for a while, because suddenly, Lester was behind me. He peered over my shoulder. "How is it?"

I shook my head and tossed the strip out. "A little high, understandable though. I haven't been doing anything. I think I'm going to go down to the gym, or out for a run or something. Probably a run." I decided.

"Would you like some company? I've been slacking as much as you have."

I smiled. "Sure."

I turned and slid around him to get ready, but he caught my arm. "Don't be so selfconsious of your body, okay? Your beautiful, and little things like scars wont change that." He said, looking me straight in the eye.

I broke eye contact, looking down as my cheeks heated up.

_Lester's POV_

I shook my head lightly. I don't think she got that she understood how beautiful she was. At the distraction, that was the first time I had seen her in ANY skirt, tank top or flipflops. And...she looked drop dead gorgeus. She didn't look slutty, she looked like a teenager there for a good time.

I tilter her chin back up until her eyes met mine before speaking, ignoring the red tinted cheeks. "Don't." I said, my voice harsher than intended. I sighed lightly and looked at her disbelieving face. "Change into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, we're gonig running, we'll talk later." I said, and left.

Entering my room, I switched out of my old pants into a pair of shorts, along with a better t-shirt for running. I didn't do anything but run my fingers through my hair.

Monday morning came much to soon for my liking, so when the alarm went off, I quickly shut it off with a groan. I looked over at Cara who was still sleeping. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, and smiled at the thought of waking her up. Normally, she woke up before me, and if I did wake up first, I'd just press a kiss to the back of her neck.

Feeling playful, I rolled on top of her, and bent my head down to kiss her collar bone. I felt her body stiffen and she gased awake, and then suddenly all the breath was knocked from my lungs as the heel of her hand connected with my sternum in a powerful blow. After a couple seconds, I gasped for air, gulping in as much as I could, I hadn't moved from over, I actually didn't think I could. "Lester?" She asked in a small voice. "Are you okay?" When I nodded, she added, and 'I'm so sorry'.

"It's okay." I muttered after a minute and a half of slow breathing. I was still on all fours over her, trapping her to the bed, and I could tell that she was well aware of that too. I looked down at her. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

She looked at me incrudiously. "Me? Am I okay? I hit _you_." She said.

"Yes." I replied. "You. You didn't hit me for fun." I said. "Or at least I'm pretty sure you didn't."

"Of course I didn't." She said, pushing on my shoulder. "Come on." She said, pushing on my shoulder again. "We have to go to work." This time she pushed on both of my shoulders, still trying to get me up. I kept my eyes fixated on her face, watching her struggle, testing to see how far she'd go. Her face had a controled expression, but I could tell it was slipping, slightly worried looks slipping through the mask. She was loosing her pressious control, and she was losing it fast. Her breathing had hitched and her heart was beating faster than normal.

She was strong, I'd give her that, but she wasn't getting anywhere with getting me off. I had discreatly slipped one of my knees between hers so that she couldn't slide down off the bed. I knew the exact moment that her control was lost, as her whole face took on the worried look and she tried desperately one more time to keepit "Lester..." She begged, "Please...get up, lets go."

I let my breath go shallow as I tightend all of my muscles, as if bracing myself for something. In a way I was though. I lowered myself down farther, invading her space more than a little. My head rested next to her ear and I spoke quietly into it. "Cara, you need to stay focused." I said lightly. "I need you to take a deep breath. Get your control back if you must, but I'm not moving until your calm." I stated.

She took in a jagged breath as she tried to do as I said and calm herself.

_Cara's POV_

My breath was uneven and ragged as I tried to control myself again. My control had slipped, and I wasn't sure which was worse, that Lester knew, or that he had _purposely_ made me lose it. He kept his end of the bargin and easily took himself off of me when I had gotten my heart rate back to normal.

I rolled out of bed, with a glance at the clock. Instead of the normal hour I had to get ready, I only had about seven minutes. I looked at Lester and glared, only then realizing his look. It was a mix of lust and passion, and I quickly looked down, taking a slight step back. I could feel the heat flush my face, tinting it an odd red color. I was only in my bra and underwhere.

I shifted slightly, and grabbed a pair of cargos from the floor, slipping them on, and grabbing the first matching shirt I found. I started out of the room intending to go for the bathroom, brushing past Lester, but it didn't work. His arm came out and snagged across my waist, puling me into him so that my back was flush against his chest. He pressed his lips to the sensitive spot just below my ear. "Remember what I told you? Don't be so shy aout yourself, your absolutley gorgeous." He whispered, then released me. I stumbled out of his arms, my feet tripping over themselfs. I was bracing myself for impact before I got far, but was suddenly stopped and wrapped back up in the warm arm. "You know, I wouldn't of let you go if I knew you were just going to fall." He said with a slight smirk.

"It's your fault." I mumbled, pulling myself from his arms and walking to the bathroom, making sure that the lock clicked in place, even though he could get in if he wanted. I didn't have time for a shower so I just went to the bathroom, and applied a single swipe of mascara. I tucked in my shirt, and glanced at my complextion. Boots and belt along with my accesories was all that I needed. I opened the bathroom door and walked flat out into a solid chest, my head molding into his shoulder. "Hi Lester." I mumbled into the shoulder.

He kissed the top of my head and I pulled back, looking up into his bright green eyes with a smile. He was grinning as well. I shook my head lightly, and stepped away. I slipped on my boots and laced them up, then stood and looked quickly over the room for the nylon web belt. I spotted it on top of the dresser and headed over to get it. After threading it through the belt loops on my cargo pants, I slipped the gun holster on it and posistioned it at the back. One by one I put them on, adding the knife in my boot last, and making the final adjustments to the holsters on my thighs. I turned to find that once again Lester was just standing, staring at me with that lustful look.

I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed his hand, heading out of the apartment, we were going to be late pretty soon. About half way to my desk, Ranger caught up with us. He nodded to Lester and turned to me. "Would you be interested in seeing more of the security side of the buisness?" He asked. I smiled and nodded. He looked back at Lester. "I'd like you in on it too, if not for her, then for your ideas on the systems." His eyes locked with mine as he continued. "Lester knows the systems as well as Hector, but Hectors out this week. One of his family members is sick and he's taking time off to help them out." I smiled a little. "Be in the confrence room in ten minutes."

"Got it boss." Lester replied with a slight nodd.

"So? You want to get something to eat? There are sandwiches in the breakroom."

"Okay." I said. Lester smiled, grabbed my hand again, and dragged me off to the elevator. The ride down was short and in no time, he was dragging me in through the door of the breakroom. Without stopping to make sure there was nobody around, he pressed me against the counter and gave me a passionate kiss. "What was that for?" I asked, slightly breathless as he pulled away.

"I hadn't given you a real kiss yet. Now we'll have a good day." He stated.

I laughed, and grabbed a healthy sandwich from the table to munch on. Lester did the same, and pulled me down into the chair, me on his lap. I shook my head lightly, laughing at the same time.

"What are you laughing about?" He asked pressing kisses up my neck.

"You," I started. "You make me laugh." I turned slightly on his lap to see his smile widen.

"I remember when we first talked, you told me that you recognized me from the gym. I don't know if I told you, but I was so impressed that you managed to remember me even though you were so scared. I remember seeing that look on your face as you realized that all these big guys were watching you, and watching as you turned your back to the wall, so you could see them. Ranger had no problem with the guys around because he trusts us, most of us he's known for a while, and in one situation or another, we've proven ourselfs enough for him to trust us with his life. You on the other hand, didn't trust men at all, and you were trying to fight Ranger _and _keep an eye on us...and you did, much to my suprise, you kept up with him."

I smiled, and leaned forward, pressing my lips to his in a sweet kiss. I pulled back, kissing his nose as well.

With a look at my watch, I stood. "We should probably get to the confrence room." I said, and shoved the last bit of crust in my mouth. Lester laughed and I gave him an innocent look that screamed _what?_

He just laughed again and pulled me down the hallway. I kept up with is pace so he wasn't dragging me, but simply holding my hand. When we walked into the confrence room, I had a huge smile plastered on my face, but what I saw made my smile falter with Confusion.

"Mr. Higgens?"

11393

Again, I am so so so so so sorry that this took so long to post. I've been enjoying the little freedom I've had, and been hanging out with frends, especially now that I'm in the new BIG school. Eek. I'm tiny compaired to everyone. I have some ideas for the next chapter, and hopefully an idea for an endin, and if people want, a sequel. Again, I'm so sorry I haven't updated, I'll try and make the next chapter extra good. :):) Promise. It should be up next weekend, or sooner. :):) Also, We're doing a bit of a computer switch in the house, and I'm writing on word pad, so there is no Spell check. I did as best as possible without spell check, hopefully Microsoft Word will be installed on my new computer. :):)

Now, as a new thing that I'm doing at the end of each chapter, I'd like to put a small question, like a true/false, multiple choice, or maybe a question where you have to look something up and put the answer you guessed in the reply. I'll keep track of the right answers, and post them at th beginning of each chapter.

So heres the question, it's True/False:

Axolotl is _not _a type of salamaner.

**True or False?**

**Reply with your answer and review please!:):) Winner will be posted in the new upcoming chapter. :):)**


	20. The Security Side

The answer is **False**! The Axolotl also known as Ambystoma mexicanum, is a Mexican Salamander. An interesting fact about them is that in their first few weeks of life, their skin tends to be transparent, or at least until their skin becomes thicker and the pigment cells multiply.

**A special thanks to... **

**Aria DeLoncray**

And

**HunnyDu2**

**For reviewing:)**

I promised to post this chapter this weekend, and I kept up on that promise. The chapter after this probably wont be up until next weekend, due to HOME WORK. I might get some time to write between then though. :):) And so it continues…

**Chapter 20**

Why was my Bio teacher sitting in the RangeMan conference room in TRENTON, NEW JERSEY!

"Mr. Higgens? Why are you here? What are you doing here?" I ended up just moving my mouth like a fish. "Aren't you in the wrong state?" I finally asked.

He chuckled. "It's good to see you are well Miss. Waterlyn.

"It's Summerland now." I replied.

"Did you get married?" He asked, looking between Lester and I.

I jumped away from Lester. "Oh, no no no, I just don't go by Waterlyn. It's in the past now."

I saw Lester start walking closer to me, smirk on his lips, and press himself against my back, grabbing my left hand with his.

"You know each other I take it?" Ranger said.

"Yes." Mr. Higgens replied. "I was her biology teacher until just recently."

"Are you still teaching there?"

"Nope. I finally retired. My wife has been trying to get us moved down here for a month and a half. We just moved in the other day, and after unpacking, the first thing I did was ask around about some security systems. Everybody said to find somebody named Ranger. I still have no idea who that is, but I found RangeMan."

"That would be me. My name is Ricardo Carlso Manoso, and I own RangeMan." He said, sticking his hand out for Mr. Higgens to shake.

Mr. Higgens took the offered hand and shook it. "I'm Eric Higgens."

Ranger turned to us. "You already know Cara Summerland, and behind her is Lester Santos, he's the man who can help with picking out the system you'd like, he can also give you better details than I can. Let's sit."

I could tell that Mr. Higgens saw the weapons that I had on me as I moved to sit across from him. Ranger had taken the chair at the head of the table, his posture clearly stating that he was boss. Lester sat next to me, intertwining our fingers together under the table. I smiled discretely.

Ranger spoke first. "Do you have an idea of what you'd like?"

Mr. Higgens paused thoughtfully. "Not much, but I was thinking something simple. Maybe something by the doors, and windows."

Ranger nodded to Lester and Lester began explaining some different systems. The connection between the motion-detectors and alarms. Then he started asking questions, simple, but ones that narrowed down the choice as he went. Did he want it to make noise or alert us? Did he want lights? Did he want cameras? And on and on. Occasionally Ranger would answer the questions about who would come if RangeMan were to be alerted, and what would happen.

After a good half an hour he had decided to go with alarms on the doors, and motion detectors on the windows that would alert RangeMan if they were went off. They didn't want lights or any noise, but we were going to call them. We were going to set it up within the hour, and to start preparations, anger wrote down there home phone number, and both of their cell phone numbers. Ranger handed them to Lester and had him run them to Woody who would put them on file. Ranger left as well to get the rest set up. "So Cara, how are you?"

"I'm good. How are you? Enjoying the area?"

He smiled. "Very much. It's nice down here." He paused. "Why?"

"Oh...I was just asking..."

"No," he responded. "Why did you leave? Why did you disappear? I had you when you were a Junior, and you were perfectly happy, you had people you hung out with. Then this year when you stepped back into school for the first day of your senior year, I noticed you were different. You didn't smile, you didn't talk to anyone, you sat in the back and looked uncomfortable all the time." I shifted in my seat uneasily. "You didn't do your homework, you didn't do classwork, you weren't doing tests. You skipped detention after detention, and then all of a sudden you disappear. Apparently you weren't at home either. And you hadn't come home. As far as everybody knew you had run away.

"But then you appear a week later as if nothing had happened, you still didn't participate that one day, but you looked happier, the shine in your eyes was back, and you looked at ease. What happened Cara? What happened that made you so uncomfortable, so unhappy that Mr. Santos helped fix?"

I took a shuddering breath and stood. "I have to go." I said, and made way for the door.

His voice made me stop. "Don't run away again Cara. You have to face it sometime."

"I did face it."

"No you didn't." He insisted. "You did something, but you need to do more, talk about it. I won't make you tell me, but I think that you should get some help..."

"What? Go to a shrink?" I shouted, turning on him. "You think I'm crazy or something?"

"No, I-"

"Then what? Why would I talk to some stranger about my life? About my 'issues'? About the fact that some asshole from the school decided that since I didn't want to sleep with him he had to take action on his own?"

When he took a step towards me I stepped back into the door, holding my hand up in the universal 'stop' sign. When I was satisfied that he wouldn't move, I covered my face with my hands, pressing the heel of my hands into my eyes. "Give me a minute."

After a couple of deep breaths I dropped my hands. I was shaking with pent up energy, and I felt like I needed to scream, or hit something. I also knew for sure that if he came one step closer I was going to give him a bloody nose.

Wordlessly, I turned, opened the door and left, shutting it behind me.

I walked towards the elevator with my head down, only to walk straight into someone. I shrieked in surprise. "It's only me beautiful."

I sighed.

"Are you up to going out to install the system?" Lester asked.

"I get to go?"

He smiled and nodded. "If you want to. Ranger thought you'd want to see the security business side, and installing it is part of it."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yep." He said, his smiled widening. "Of course if you don' t want to go..."

"No, that's okay, I'll go."

"Good." He said, and kissed the top of my head. "We leave in five."

Before I had time to think about that, he was walking away. "Wait!" I called out, running to catch up to him. "Five minutes? Like now?"

"Yes, like now." He said, a grin still tipping up at the corner of his lips.

"What about Mr. Higgens? Isn't he coming?"

"Of course he's coming." He stated, as if it was obvious.

"He's still in the conference room though."

"Ram's getting him, don't worry so much, it's all taken care of." He said confidently, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into him.

"I don't need anything?" I asked.

"Nope, as long as you've got your gun and ID, then you're A-okay." He said, and placed another kiss on the top of my head.

We got down to the garage to see three other guys standing in a circle talking. I recognized Ranger and Bobby, then there was another guy I didn't know. He was dressed like all the other men here, wearing black, his utility belt loaded like Ranger's. He had short brown hair, and hazel eyes, his features sharp rather than soft and gentle.

The ding of the elevator opening brought me out of thought and I quickly turned, pulling myself from Lester's arms and talking a step and a half back so that I had room. Another big man stepped off with Mr. Higgens, causing me to take two more steps back as the new big guy got closer.

He stopped moving, stilling Mr. Higgens from moving. Slowly and silently, I slipped the knife from its holster, turning it upside-down so that the blade was pressed flat against the inside of my arm and out of sight.

"Relax, that's Ram." Lester said into my ear. I nodded, talking a deep breath, noting that he was carefully taking the knife from me. He slid it back into place and I sighed.

11393-!!#(#

Mr. Higgens gave Ranger the address, and Ranger seemed to know where that was, because we all got into the big 'ol SUV and drove out. Ranger was in the driver seat, Bobby riding shotgun, Ram and the other guy Ranger had introduced to me as Hal, sat on either side of Mr. Higgens, who looked very, very small sandwiched between them.

I'm sorry to have to leave you off like that, but I have to do my Science I homework, I have a HUGE packet, and I've only been in school, like, six real days, it's crazy, we're working with hurricanes and stuff. **Sigh** I'll post the next one next week, and I'll go into great detail on the house, mainly because I decided to use the house my grandfather lives in, on Isle Au Haut. My grandmother Sally past away in 2005, while I was in seventh grade, it was sad, I was told one morning, and I just kinda' stared at her, not really getting what she was saying to me, I mean, I had just seen her a few months ago. Anyway, I went to school that same day, but…I just decided the house had to be used. JJ

P.S. The fishes have to do with the house. Grandma liked fish for a while, so people bought her LOTS of fish stuff, so there is fish pillows, suction cups, plates, napkins, wallhangings, ect.

**Next Time…**

We finally pulled into the driveway of a small two-story house with a large front porch. There were windows in the front and sides, clearly visible, and I noticed the little fish decorations stuck to them.

**That's all.**

What book in the series is the quote below from? 

"I like things hot."

Ranger says it. It's _really _easy, so review, guess, or just review…you know, I just LOVE reviews. JJ


	21. The House

Okay, so that quote was from book twelve, page 196, on the hardcover copy, the last page of chapter 14.

_Quote:_

'"That's surprisingly domestic for the man of mystery," I said to him.

He looked at me over the rim of his coffee mug. "I like things hot."' _End Quote._

Well, damn, I love that quote. 

So, an additional thanks to…

**HunnyDu2**

**Aria DeLoncray**

**Blackonyx21**

And

**Cokkii**

For reviewing. 

**Chapter 21**

We finally pulled into the driveway of a small two-story house with a large front porch. There were windows in the front and sides, clearly visible, and I noticed the little fish decorations stuck to them. The lawn was coated in green grass, but far from smooth as I memorized the shape of the land. On the right, there was the rocky driveway. Over by the edge of the property on the right, there were two BIG rocks, big enough to have to run and jump to get on type of big, separated by a tree with beautiful white blooming flowers.

Lester led me forward, following Ranger who was following Mr. Higgens towards the house. Once at the front door, he inserted the key, and unlocked it, then gave it a hard shove with his should to get it open. There were small glass panels on the side of the door, and around the small suction-cupped fish, I could see a table.

Upon entering, I could see more than just he table. Straight ahead of us, there was a staircase with no back to it, so you could see the trash can, bottle bag, and other various cases on the other side, under the stair case. There was a door immediately to the right, looking to be a bedroom, and to the left, there was the dining room table, with six chairs surrounding the dark wood table. A floral couch separated the living room from the dining room, and the kitchen stood separated by an island counter and linoleum flooring.

"So, this is the house, upstairs there are two other guest bedrooms, we pretty much just use it for storage right now. The bathrooms down there," he said pointing to the door just to the right of the kitchen's microwave. "The door to the back is also out that way. The other back door is right around the corner in the living room, and most of the windows are down stairs." Ranger nodded.

"What first?" I asked Lester.

He turned to Ranger. "We install the different systems, explain how to control them, say good bye, and head back to RangeMan." Lester said, as if asking Ranger to correct him if he were wrong.

Ranger nodded. "And we add a bolt lock on his front door." I smiled. Ranger liked bolt locks.

Ranger had me stay with Lester while he started installing the alarms on the doors, front and two back doors. I never knew how easy it was to install a security system before this. The alarm had no wires, like a fire alarm, but also didn't use a battery. It charged off of the electrical system, but had enough of a life so that if they lost power, or had power cut, the alarm would work for a full forty eight hours after. At that point, back up would be sent to the premises. Lester and I were finished first, so we headed up the steps to help install the last of the motion detectors up there.

At the top of the stairs the door was propped open, and we could see easily to the two rooms. To the left was a bit of space, and another door, presumably a guest bedroom. I stepped inside for a quick look, and saw the slanted ceiling, high from the end of the door, lowering down by the other side of the room. There were two, old and dusty twin bed set up, one on either side of the room.

I exited the room, and turned. There was a large open area before the other room, and it was packed full of random things, mostly of boxes from where it was being unpacked slowly. The floor, I noticed, was made of a much stronger type of plywood, most likely placed and secured to supports. It was sturdy under my boots but it still felt old.

The bedroom at the end of the room was where Lester was heading, so I followed, not at all disappointed not to see the room.

It was white, and cute, with a queen size bed sitting against the wall by the door. There was a half-sized shelf running most of the way around the room, and on the right, there were a few boxes, and an old box spring mattress. Bobby and Ram were kneeling in front of the window opposite of the door and bed, finishing installing the detector. Ram was holding the level, while Bobby screwed it into the wall. The motion detectors ran off of special circle batteries, that had a longer life span than AA's.

11393

We pulled into RangeMan at thirty minutes to twelve, and we all headed our separate ways. We had finished installing everything, then talked to Mr. Higgens a bit more. I was the last out the door, and he said that he'd see me around, and that if I ever wanted to talk, I knew where he lived.

Yeah, right.

Lester and I went for another sandwich in the break room, then to our desks with another kiss, and him reminding me that it would be a good day because he got his kiss.

After that, I got to work on the files that had stacked up on the desk, and by the time it was five, I was just finishing the second to last one. It could wait until tomorrow.

"Hey." He said casually, leaning against the cubicle wall lightly.

"Hey." I replied with a small grin. I logged out and shut it down, then stood and walked over to him, leaning up and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

He slung an arm around my waist and guided me out of the cubical. "You hungry yet?"

"Mmmm," I groaned. "Food. That's a yes." I flashed him a grin and surpressed my stomach from growling as we stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall.

He laughed, and gave me a gentle into his apartment. "Here," He said, pulling over a chair and pressing on my shoulder lightly, telling me to sit down. I sat in the chair, and as if I weighed nothing, he picked up the entire chair, and carried it almost two yards towards the counter, placing me away from the dining room table, and stove, and making it also so that my back wasn't to the door.

I smiled at this.

"So what are you making?" I asked.

"You'll see, it's not to complex, make yourself comfortable, it's going to take about half an hour. You said you couldn't cook, so I'm going to start by having you watch me, then I'm going to teach you." He looked over at me, and flashed me a grin as he continued. "And maybe you can teach me to be more flexible."

"Is that a deal?" I asked with a smirk.

"It can be."

!!!11393!!!

Okay, so I planned on posting this yesterday, but I had to write a 5-page lab report (yuck) for science about candles. Boring. Anyway, I've been busy, so here it is, and I'm sorry it's so short, it's smaller than I would usually post.

**Multiple Choice**

_Which of the Merry Men is a new addition to the Merry Men (by us readers) in book 13?_

A) Hal

B) Brett

C) Cal

D) Hector

Again, sorry for being a day late, _and _for it being so short, I like long, and this was only like, two pages. Gosh, sad me. I'll be posting on Sunday peeps, see ya!

Peanut Out.


	22. Dinner at My Place

The answer was B, Brett, although Steph decided that he looked more like a Grunt. Page 180 with the hardcover copy. 

A special thanks to:

Blackonyx21 

And

HunnyDue2 

For reviewing & _getting the right answer!_

_**Congrats!!!**_

**Lester's POV**

I was going to make spaghetti with hamburger and sausage mixed in. I stuck a pot of water on the stove, and added salt and oil, then moved to another burner and turned it to six, a little past medium.

By the time I had cooked the sausage and hamburger, and was ready to add the sauce, the noodles were done, and ready to be strained. She asked me a few questions, but mainly just watched.

I opened the jar of sauce, and poured it in with the hamburger and sausage, then stirred it and turned down the heat slightly, placing a lid on top. I grabbed a strainer, and placed it in the sink, then dumped the noodles in it, and turned off that burner. I shook the strainer, letting the water fling from the holes in the bottom and sides.

I checked the sauce, and stirred it, then set the lid aside, and turned off the heat. I grabbed two plates, and set them next to each other on the counter, and placed a pile of spaghetti on each, then used a clean ladle to spoon out some sauce onto them.

I recovered the sauce before springing some Parmesan cheese over both plates. I grabbed the plates, and placed them across from each other at the table, then turned, and walked to Cara. She was still sitting in the chair, but when I got close, she stood.

I held up my hand to stop her.

"Sit." I said, motioning for her to sit back down. She narrowed her eyes, but sat down. I walked around behind her, and picked up her and the chair again, remembering to lift with my knees.

I set the chair down at the table, and pushed it in for her. I poured cold water from the _Brita _filer in the fridge, and set a glass at each plate.

Finally I sat.

There were a few moments of ocuard silence. "So, ho-"

"Thank yo-" We both said at the same time. We laughed and I motioned for her to continue.

"Thank you for this. It looks really good."

"It tastes better." I said, smirking slightly. We both started eating with a smile, and after a few more minutes of quiet, I spoke, continuing with what I was saying before. "So, how are you?"

She looked at me funny. "I'm good. Why?"

"Just curious." I said with an innocent shrug.

Again, her eyes narrowed. "You're lying." She stated, then took another bite.

My face broke out in a smile. "Don't you sound confident? I'm lying? What makes you say that?"

She looked up. "Because when you're trying to hide something, or lying, you act all innocent like that."

"What if I am innocent?"

She snorted. "No one is that innocent."

"Well maybe I am." I retorted.

She locked eyes with me, and swallowed the bite she had been chewing. Suddenly, she leaned forward, elbows on the table to match me, stopping centimeters from my face. I watched as she looked between my lips and my eyes, debating weather or not to kiss me. Finally, she looked me straight in the eye. "But you're not."

Then she leaned back, and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

**N**ot to long later, I stood, and cleared away the plates from the table. Cara carried the glasses behind me to the sink. I'd do the dishes later.

"So." I said turning around, and leaning my right hip against the counter. "Would you accompany me to a movie?"

She smiled. "I think that would be great." She said with a smile.

I held out a hand, and with slight laugh, she placed hers into mine. I gave her hand an over exaggerated kiss and bow, then led her to the living room. I had large shelves of DVDs, VHS's and games for the X-Box and PS2 lining the walls.

She paused just inside, her eyes running along the shelves in awe. "Holy shit." She whispered. "What do you do? Buy every movie you come across?"

"Just about." I replied.

She looked over at me incredulously. "What?" I asked. "I don't have much of a rent to pay here, and I have a company car, so no car bills. I get good pay. I have money to spend, and this is what I do in my free time.

She gave me a small smile and came over. "Sounds like fun." She said, then hopped onto the couch. "So what are we watching tonight?"

"Hmmm." I said, my eyes scanning the shelf, stopping on a movie. "How about Absolute Zero?"

"Sounds good." She said.

"It is. Just try and ignore the bad graphics." I told her, grabbing the movie off of the shelf.

I slid the disk in the Play Station 2, and turned on the TV, along with the sound. I had bought some speakers a couple years back, and when I moved in here, I had hooked them up around the room to give it surround sound. I turned it to a good level, and grabbed the remote before heading to the couch.

Cara had stretched out across the couch so that she was covering the whole thing, hands behind her head, ankles crossed. Her eyes were closed, and she had a smirk on, but that quickly went away when I put the remote on her stomach, and picked her up before laying her back down on top of me. She sat up slightly so that she was still stretched out, but she was leaning against me. I kissed the top of her head and wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

She seamed to enjoy the movie, though she agreed that the graphics were pretty lame. At one point, she had started laughing, although there was a guy dying. I just shook my head, and kissed the top of hers.

By the end though, we were both pretty tired. "Stay at my place tonight?" I asked.

I felt her smile. "Love to." She replied. I stood, and shuffled over to the entertainment center, and flicked off the TV, sound box, and Play Station, then went back over to the couch and helped her stand.

Once in the bedroom, I flopped down on the bed with her, pausing to strip off my shirt and pants.

I leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead to get her attention, locking my eyes with hers when she opened them. "Can I change you into one of my shirts?"

She smiled and nodded. I peeled off her shirt first, and replaced it with a clean one of mine, then pulled off her pants, and brought the blanket up over us.

"Night Lester." She whispered.

"Night Cara," I whispered back. "I love you."

11393

Okay, so I just got back from Vermont, so I wrote this up and now I need to go to bed, because I'm sleepy too. Hope you liked it, please review!

What is the sandwich that Steph is always making? 

A) Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

B) Potato Chip Sandwich

C) Peanut Butter and Olive Sandwich

D) Potato Chip and Olive Sandwich

_Review!_


	23. Steph, Morelli and Ranger

C) Peanut Butter and Olive Sandwich. Steph likes it on worthless white bread, and I think that Ranger just thinks she's a freak…maybe not.

This is a four-day weekend, so this chapter should be _extra_long, (hopefully).

Anyway… 

A special thanks to:

HunnyDu2 

And

Blackonyx21 

For constantly reviewing _and_ getting the right answer!

Hugs! Chapter 23 

"Wait, what?" I asked Lester as he walked me to my cubicle after a great night and breakfast.

"Steph's coming in, apparently there might be someone after her."

"What about Morelli?" I asked, he said they were together…

"Not sure, we can ask her when she comes in."

"When is she coming in?"

"From what I heard, sometime around noon, I'll come and get you." He paused to give me a soft kiss as we stopped at my fifth floor cubicle. "Have a good day." He said.

"You too."

And he was gone.

With a breath, I sat down at the computer. I hadn't sat here since Friday?

I turned the computer on, and got logged in, then opened up the first search program, and started sifting through the files in my 'In' box.

"Jesus Christ Rodriquez." I mumbled after my fourth search from him. I stretched my arms above my head, and arched my back, sighing in relief when my back cracked. I got back to work on the fifth one from him.

By the time I was on the eighth or ninth search (not all by Rodrequez thankfully) Lester came around, popping is head in with a smile. "Lunch time?" He asked me.

I glanced at the computer clock. Thank god. "Yes."

I finished off what I was doing, logged off, then shut down, and put the file in the 'Out' box, then stood, stretching again.

"So," He said, putting an arm around, my waist. " How are you?"

"I'm _good_." I said with a smirk.

"Oh, so you're not _fine_?" He asked, matching smirk glued to his face.

_Of course I am. _"No."

"Good." He replied.

"How are you?" I asked.

"I'm good." He said with a smile, then placed a kiss on the top of my head.

He directed me to the break room, and we each grabbed a sandwich, and sat down like before, me on his lap, feeling like a little kid, and eating our sandwiches.

"Are you sure this doesn't hurt you?" I asked, referring to the fact that I, being a hundred and forty-pound _young women_ was sitting on his lap.

He nodded. "Yep."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "How does it not bother you?"

He smirked again. "Because," He said matter-a fact. "I'm a _very _big boy."

I felt blush creep up to my cheeks as I thought about what he had said. I moved to get up, and his arm came around my waist, pressing me back down into his lap. "Where are you going?" He asked huskily.

I racked my brain for any excuse to get up. "I'm thirsty." I tried.

His breath was ragged in my ear. "Not good enough."

"Hey, Lester, Steph's here!" Bobby said as he popped his head in. "Oh." He muttered after, seeing what was going on.

Then, his face grew into yet another smirk. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Nope." I said. I felt Lester shake his head.

"We'll be down."

"Okay, see you later man." He nodded to me. "Cara."

As soon as he was out of the room I hopped off of his lap, glad to be free.

"Come on." He said before I had a chance to yell at him. His hand clamped around my wrist as he dragged me out of the room and to the elevator. He pushed the button for the garage, and I found myself doing a quick check of my weapons. Lester glanced over at me, giving me an odd look, just before the elevator binged open.

We stepped out, and I was instantly greeted with the site of a woman, my height, brown curly hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a tight T-shirt, along with a simple pair of sneakers.

"Hey Steph!" Lester called out. Her sharp blue eyes turned and widened with surprise, then her face lit up with joy. "Lester!" Suddenly, she was running across the lot until she jumped into his arms.   
I stepped to the side quickly, as he spun her around.

Finally he placed her on the ground. "Lester, it's so good to see you again. God, I missed you." She said, giving him another big hug.

"Missed you too Bomber."

She scowled.

"Cara, this is Stephanie, Stephanie, meet Cara."

She turned to me with a smile and stuck out a hand. "Hi."

I smiled lightly and hesitantly stuck my hand out to shake with hers. "Hello Stephanie."

"Call me Steph." She said, as if trying to make me more comfortable."

"Okay, Steph, I've heard a lot about you."

"It wasn't my fault, don't believe a word they say." She replied.

I smiled.

There were unknown footsteps in the garage, echoing off the walls. My hand dropped from hers, and I turned quickly to the source. A man was heading our way, his steps confidant as he wore a pair of snug fitting jeans, a T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. Cop.

I sucked in a breath. I had to get out of here. Now.

_Lester's POV_

Cara's head turned towards where Morelli came up towards us, and I heard her suck in a breath as her whole body went on red alert. She reached for her knife, and started stepping away, mumbling something to me about fleeing.

I once again wrapped a hand around her wrist, keeping her in place. Her breath quickened slightly as she tried to get free of my grip. As Morelli got closer, she got more urgent, until I was sure she was going to shoot me.

When I saw her empty right hand form into a fist, getting ready to come out at me, I spoke. "Cara, stop it."

She froze, her wide eyes coming up to mine. "Please." She mumbled, attempting once again to get out of my grasp.

I held tight as I quickly realized her reasons for acting like this.

For one, she probably didn't know it was Morelli, and two, where she grew up, when you see a cop, you run. She knew he was a cop, most everybody in her neighborhood would be able to as well. Even if he wasn't in uniform.

Cara's eyes darted between me and Morelli quickly as she continued to tug and pull at my hand.

"I have to get out of here." She mumbled.

"No you don't." I told her. She stopped, her eyes once again on me, thinking, then to Morelli. He had stopped moving when he picked up on what was going on.

Finally, she stopped; altogether, her whole body practically sagged to the floor with defeat. But not quite. She still stood, on guard, but she no longer struggled. Her eyes were full of Trust, and I knew that this was her way of saying. 'I'm trusting you, be careful.' I nodded slightly, and she swallowed hard.

"Morelli." I said, speaking louder than before. "Slowly walk forward, hands visible." When he looked at me with confusion and doubt I added, a 'Just do it.'

He nodded and started walking towards us again, slowly, hands clearly away from his body. He stopped a couple feet in front of us, and slowly lowered his arms to his side.

Joe's POV 

In my years in both the Navy, and on the streets, I like to say I've never seen this, but I have, too many times. The teens that run at the site of a cop, uniform or not. This was no different, except for Lester who stood, holding onto her left wrist, keeping her hand from the knife on her thigh.

Slow movements I knew were all I could do. After lowering my arms to my side, I slowly raised one hand out, in the gesture to shake.

I looked her straight in the eye as she stared at me, then glanced down at my hand. She swallowed visibly and started moving her right hand out to shake mine. Slowly, her right hand slid into mine, shaking slightly. I gave her hand a slight squeeze. "My names Joe Morelli."

"Cara." She mumbled.

No last name given.

With that, her hand slipped from mine, and returned to her side. I smiled a bit. Suddenly, she sniffled, as if she had a runny nose. Hey eyes widened, and she turned away from me, her hand coming free of Lester's. She quickly hopped in the elevator, and punched a number in the panel, one hand under her nose, head down. When she moved he hand just a little, I bit back a gasp. Her fingers had blood running from between them.

With a bit more force she punched the number. "It's good to see you again Steph. I'll see you later." Lester said, taking off towards the elevator and hopping in. He took her hand from her nose to examine it, showing the full force of the blood coming from her nose. He used a finger to wipe the blood off of her upper lip, and placed a light kiss there, then brushed some hair out of her face.

Then the doors closed.

I turned to Steph and she shrugged.

Lester's POV 

Christ that was a lot of blood. Strange man and cop, what a great combo for her. I didn't know _he _was going to be there, other wise Cara wouldn't of have been.

She stepped out of the bathroom; her face still slightly wet from cleaning it. She had insisted that she clean up on her own, and the only reason that I let her is because I knew she needed a minute or two to collect herself.

She heaved a sigh and smiled. I walked up closer to her, pressing myself against her as I gently cupped her face between my hands. "Thank you for trusting me." I murmured, lowering my lips to hers.

"Welcome." She managed to get out between kisses, then moaned into my mouth. I started walking her backwards into a wall as I ground against her harder. Her hands fisted in my hair, and I slid one hand around her neck, lacing it in the bottom of her hair, and pulling her face closer, as my other hand was sliding down over her ass to the back of her thigh. I tugged at her leg, expecting her to hop up, only for her leg to easily lift around my waist; the other still planted on the ground.

My tongue slipped into her mouth, dueling with hers as I continued to pull her closer. I got her other leg around my waist, muttering about how flexible she was. My pelvis ground into hers as she kissed me back with just as much passion.

I pulled from the wall when she moaned again, and I walked towards the bed, lowering her down onto to the bed, me on all fours above her, lips still locked. My hands went instinctively for the button to her cargos, and I was about to undo them, when some one cleared their throat none to subtly.

"Fuck off." I managed to get out. Cara pulled back slightly and I sighed. Shit.

"Give us a minute." I said, not caring whom it was yet. Carefully, she unwrapped her legs from around my waist, and I slid my hands out from under her, then rolled off of her and onto my back next to her, breathing heavy.

"Lester?" Cara asked.

"Just give me a sec." I said, taking deep breaths. After a second, I grabbed her by the waist, and dragged her on top of me, sitting her up. I let out a breath of air, locked eyes with her, and brought up all the bravado I had in me before speaking. "I love you." I said. "I _really_ love you, and it's frustrating, because I've never felt like this before. I mean, not the part about being horny, but-" I paused. "What I mean, is that I've never felt like this for someone else. Feelings that are about more than just sex. Of course I'm attracted to you, you should know that, hell, everybody at RangeMan knows that every time I'm around you I get a hard-on. But the thing is, I get this tingly feeling all the way down to my toes any time I'm near you, even if it's just being in the same room, and it's amazing. I. Love. You."

She gave me a watery smile. "I love you too. And I have to tell you, that you are the first person I've EVER said that too. Including my mother. I never said that to her, we didn't have that kind of relationship, so me saying this is a big deal. I love you."

I pulled her head down to mine and gave her a soft kiss. "I'm glad."

With a sigh I pulled her up with me as I stood. "We better get out there."

She blew out some air and blushed. "Yeah, I guess so." We got another step or two out, and she paused, locking eyes with me. "And Lester? Your right, everybody at RangeMan does know, it looks like you're going camping anytime I'm around. You pitch a tent."

I laughed quietly at that. I opened the door to the bedroom, and headed out, plopping down in the chair across from where Ranger sat. Cara sat next to me, leaving some space between us.

"Sooo." I started.

Ranger's eyes snapped to meet mine, an angry blaze in them.

Suddenly, I smiled and leaned over to Cara. "Why do I feel like a teenager being caught by my parents?"

"Because we are." She replied smiling.

"I don't know why you two are smiling right now-"

I cut him off. "We told you last time you 'caught' us, that we would tell you when we had a name for what we are. Well, I think we would be what people would consider a couple. We love each other."

With that, I glanced over at Cara, and threaded my fingers through hers. She flashed me another smile.

Rangers frown turned into a smile, a simple tip of the lips. "You know Lester, you're lucky I like you. You're also lucky that it's impossible to stay mad at you." Ranger stood, and Cara and I followed suit, standing, hands still together. "Well, I just came up here to check if you were okay. But I can see that you're better than okay, congratulations." He said, and disappeared around the corner to the door and out.

I turned to look at Cara. "I think that's like parental consent."

"I think so too." She said, leaning up into me. "Does that mean I get a kiss?"

"Mmm." I said. "I like the idea of that." I pressed my lips to hers in a short but sweet kiss.

11393

Later that day, after dropping Cara back off at her cubicle, and heading to mine to get some dreaded paperwork done, I found myself in the break room, seeking a glass of water. "Am I right?" Some on asked from behind me as I finished off the Styrofoam cup of plain water, and tossed it in a trash. "About her background. Am I right that she knew I was a cop before I introduced myself?"

I turned around to see Morelli leaning against the wall behind me, arms crossed over his chest.

"I think so."

He paused, taking that all in. "Is she okay?"

I smiled at the question. "Better than okay."

He didn't seem to understand, then again not many people would.

"So you two together?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

I smiled. "Yep. Me and Cara."

We got off topic after that, and ended up talking about the latest Rangers game. That was were Steph found us half an hour later, relaxing in the break room, talking sports.

"Lester?! Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I am, I'm just having a long…snack break."

"Uh-huh." She paused then smiled. "Cara seems nice. Is she okay?"

"Yep."

"How long have you known her?"

I paused, mentally counting the days. "A week? Week and a half?"

"That short? I didn't recognize her, she from around here?"

I glanced to Morelli, monitoring what I said. "Not exactly."

"Well, where is she from?"

"Maine." I said.

"Huh." She said. "That's a ways. How'd you meet?"

"Coincidence." I replied easily. "Luck maybe."

"What? Lover at first sight?" She asked, rolling her eyes.

"Something like that."

Not too much later, I found myself finishing up the dreaded paperwork that I had put off for far to long.

"Lester?" I turned my head at the sound of her voice, surprised to see Cara at the entrance to MY cubicle. I didn't even think she knew where my cubicle was. "The all-knowing Stephanie told me." She said, as if reading my mind.

She took a step in, and leaned down to give me a light kiss on the lips. "Wouldn't want to give the control room to much of a show." She whispered, still next to my lips.

"Cough -Whipped- Cough" Some said, faking a cough to cover it. I pulled Cara aside, quickly logged out and shut down, locked everything up, and dragged her behind me as I stalked towards the Control Room. When I entered Binkie and Hal sat there, both of them grinning like fools.

I looked between both of them, then slapped them both upside the head. I rolled my eyes as they both shouted a 'Hey!' and rubbed their head where I had whacked them. I turned to Cara and leaned towards her so I could whisper in her ear low enough that only she could hear me. "Their right. I am whipped." Then I kissed her just below her ear, and we headed towards the apartment.

On the way to the apartment, we ran into Steph, Morelli, and Ranger walking together, though it was weird that Steph and Ranger were holding hands.

"Cara, Lester." Ranger said with a nod. Morelli gave a nod as well, and Steph smiled and gave us a 'hey, have a good night.'

"You too." I replied. Cara nodded and smiled, and we were on our way.

[11393

"So," I started, once we got to my apartment. "Since there is nothing else we have to do today, and it's only five, I thought we could just hang out, play some video games, watch a movie or two, and have dinner…" I trailed off, slightly unsure.

"That sounds like a lot of fun." She said, washing all insecurities away. She looked past me at the shelves of games and movies. "Got any driving games?" She asked.

I gave her a genuine smile. "Lots." I walked over to the shelves, and paused in front of a section of games, and started pulling games out, just turning them sideways, and naming them as I went. "Driver, Driver2, Crazy Taxi, Tokyo Highway Battle, MotorStorm, ATV Offroad Fury, Big Mutha Truckers, Big Mutha Truckers2, Cel Damage, Big Scale Racing, Carve and Burnout." I finished and took a big breath.

"Driver2 and Crazy Taxi?" She asked.

"Sounds good, all the games I got are good.

I popped Driver2 into the PlayStation2, although it was an older game for a PlayStation. We started out with some two-player free rides, then ended up playing Tag. The screen was split top and bottom. I was player one, so I was on the top, and she was player two, so she was on the bottom half. When Tag started, my screen flashed with 'Your It', so Cara took off, pressing X as hard as she could. She used the arrows instead of analog to steer, and she made a sharp turn, I followed close behind until she missed a turn, and I slammed into her. Her screen flashed with the 'Your It' and this time I took off.

We continued until both our cars were totaled, and we were laughing. At one point, I had tried to commandeer her remote and crash her into a wall, but she moved out of the way and I ended up on top of her. She was on her stomach, arms outreached as she drove the car, and tried to keep it from me.

I finally got off of her, now that the game was over, and took Driver2 out, and replaced it with Crazy Taxi. Crazy Taxi is a one-person game, so we took turns driving people around for as long as we could. Neither of us could get more than six people anywhere without running out of time.

When we finished Crazy Taxi, it was nearly seven, so I decided to start dinner, I was cooking for her again, hopefully teaching her something new. I made a simple Shake-n-Bake recipe, keeping her involved this time. She stood with me, and helped me clean the chicken, and then I placed two in the bag with the seasoning, and handed it to her. I showed her what to do, and I watched, with a smile, as she shook the bag, a grin plastered to her face.

We set the coated chicken in a pan, and slid it in the oven, and then I pulled out a pan, and boiled some water. We ended up with the Shake-n-Bake chicken, RiceaRoni and some green beans. We sat at the table and had a peaceful meal, not really any talking except for the occasional comment. After cleaning the table up, I had her pick out a movie. She did an Eenie-meenie-minie-mo, type of thing, and I took the movie and popped it in. It was Ultra Violet.

I pulled Cara flush up against me as the movie started, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

When the movie finished around ten-thirty, she was practically asleep on my arm, and when I moved to stand up, she whimpered, curling up against me. She had her head on my shoulder, the full extent of her body and muscle weight on me. It didn't bother me; it simply made me feel very happy. As I did last night, I managed to get up; keeping her tucked under my arm, and carried her to the bed. After depositing her on the bed, I quickly left to turn off the TV and lights, then returned to the bedroom. I stripped to my boxers, and crawled up next to her. I took off all her weapons and placed them on the bedside, then asked her quietly, looking to make sure she understood what I was asking, if I could change her into one of my shirts again. "Mmmmm." She mumbled, "Suuuurrrrrree."

I shook my head softly, and peeled off her pants, then her shirt, and replaced it with one of mine. Instead of little panties, she had a pair of black briefs, tight like underwear; just they went a quarter of the way down her thighs. I gave her a kiss, and curled up to her, pulling the blankets over us. "Night Love." I whispered.

"Nighhhh." She got out with a yawn, then falling back asleep. Soon I joined her.

[11393

Ha! Take that, just barely above 8 whole pages. My record is 11 full pages and like two lines over, onto the 12th page, but considering how many things I did this weekend alone, I' proud of it.  Enjoy, and don't forget to Review!

**Here is an easy one, because I'm tired, just look this up, use a translator, don't just guess**.

_What does __él__ mean in Spanish? __The__ or __He_

Review!

Peanut Out


	24. Junior and Hector, along with Bart Cone

Él, in Spanish, means _he_. _The_ in Spanish is just el. The accent mark is the difference. 

Anyway… 

A special thanks to:

HunnyDu2 

And

Blackonyx21 

For constantly reviewing, you guys are awesome.

Hugs!

**Thanks to **_**HunnyDu2**_** for getting the correct answer.**

This chapter is deticated to HunnyDu2, and Blackonyx21, I love you guys!

Kokay, so My goal for this chapter is to have 4 reviews, cause 2? Only 2 people out of 7! 7 people get this on their e-mailo, and over 40 read the chapter, and only two **very awesome** people review? Huh.

HERE IT IS!… 

Chapter 24 - _Lester's POV_

"Cara?" I asked, looking at her still shape on the floor. She was sprawled out on her stomach on the floor of her cubicle. "Cara?!" I asked more frantic when she didn't move. I went and kneeled by her, running my hand threw her hair so I could find the side of her neck. I checked for her pulse. It was there and beating fine. I shook her shoulder. "Cara?"

"Shhhh." She said, "I'm trying to think."

Unconsciously, I let out a breath of air in relief. "You scared me to death. Why are you on the floor?"

"Thinking." She mumbled. "Ranger stopped by and asked if I could run a few people for him, they were some people who he thinks are related to chasing Steph, and he gave me some background info on her, a little about each person, and I think I know who's stocking her."

I paused, taking it all in. "Who?"

"This guy named Bart Cone. Last week he flew into Newark, and then I traced a few credit cards to a motel just outside of Trenton and a rental car. From what I know, Steph shot his brother? In TriBo?"

I nodded, we all knew of TriBo, and what happened there, we were all terrified when we found out, us being the rest of the merry men. Cal called Morelli with the listense plate number, and Ranger, and then us. He and Junior went with Ranger to TriBo to get Steph, Morelli went to Clyde's house." My face broke pout at the smile. "Steph sprayed Junior, and killed Clyde. It was amazing." I paused again, switching subjects. "So you think that Bart Cone did it?"

She nodded. "Yep."

"Have you told Ranger yet?"

"Nope."

"How about Steph or Morelli?"

"Nope."

"Are you going to tell them?" I finally asked.

"Probably."

"Probably?" I asked. "Come on, they need to know." I stood, and held my arm out to her. She rolled onto her back and stared at me, looking me straight in the eye, her face contorted into one of displeasure.

"What if I don't want to? What if they don't believe me?"

"They will believe you, they'll go on it, and monitor the others, but give extra looks at Bart." I assured her. She still looked a bit uneasy, but she slipped her hands into mine, and allowed me to pull her up.

"They better." She mumbled.

I led the way to the Control Room. "Where is Ranger?"

"His office with Morelli and Steph."

I nodded at Cal and turned toward Ranger's office.

Once outside the doors, I knocked.

"Come in." Ranger said from within'.

I opened the door and pulled Cara in behind me, nodding at Steph and Morelli who sat in the chairs across from Ranger's desk. Steph was seated criss-cross, very comfortably, while Morelli sat stiff back, obviously uncomfortable.

"Done the searches?" He asked Cara.

"Almost, but I think I know who's stalking Steph." She turned to Stephanie, whose feet had fallen from the chair and she was sitting with wide-eyes. "Bart Cone. He flew into Newark last week, and I was able to trace his credit card to a motel just outside Trenton. Also, he got a rental car. A blue catallac."

She stopped and Steph's mouth was hanging open. She turned to Cara first. "Thank you Cara, I really appreciate this." She sounded sincere, and then she turned to Ranger. "How dare you? -"

Ranger interrupted her. "Stop. I gave her a few searches to run, because she's got good instincts like you, and as I thought a set of fresh eyes would help."

Steph seemed to accept that.

I had been paying so much attention to Steph, that I hadn't noticed how uncomfortable Cara was. Her posture was stiff, and she was trying side step toward the door. My arms were wrapped around her waist, keeping her in place unintentionally.

"Uh…That's all." She said, this time glancing up to me when she noticed that the grip had tightened. The look in her eyes was the same one she had in the garage, and my eyes swung to Morelli of their own accord. He was also watching Cara intensely. "I think I'll just get back to work…" She dragged on, putting little force into her pulls. He hands clamped on over mine in a seemingly loving manner, but her fingers were digging into my hands as she kept a neutral expression on her face.

Calmly, I nodded goodbye to everyone in the room, and turned; pulling Cara a few inches from me so I didn't waddle, but kept my hands on her hips.

"Break room." I told her, as I used her hips as a way to steer.

"Sit." I said, gently but forcefully pushing her into a chair. I pulled a chair up in front of her, and sat down in it.

"Why do you do that?" She asked before I could say anything.

"Do what?" I asked.

Hold me back when I try and leave, why do you not let me leave? You obviously know that I don't want to be there."

I thought about it for a second, figuring out how to put it into words. "I hold you back because I don't want to let go, and have you run blind."

"I wouldn't be running blind!" She objected. "I'd be going back to work."

"Yeah, maybe, but on your way there, how well would you be able to protect yourself, or make rational decisions?"

"I was only going across the floor! How many decisions could I possibly need to make?"

I was about to respond, when someone shouted my name. "Lester!"

"We'll continue this later." I told Cara, pressing a kiss to her forehead before jogging to the voice. Tank was in the control room. "Yeah?"

"Gear up and be ready in five, there is a situation down on Comstock. Hector and Junior are in trouble."

My eyes widened and I nodded, then turned and started running for the stairs. I ran down a flight of stairs and burst through the door on the fourth floor, and ran dead ahead to my apartment, barely getting the door open before falling inside. I immediately grabbed extra knifes and guns from the safe in my closet, then slipped my shirt off and velcrowed a bullet proof vest on. I slid the shirt back on over it, and checked all the weapons, making sure they were in place before shutting the safe and heading out of the apartment.

When I entered the Control room a minute later, I caught the tail end of a conversation.

"Why?" It was Cara.

"Because we're down on people and we can use all the help we can get right now."

"Okay, what do you need me to do?"

"Put this on." He tossed her a bulletproof vest. She glanced between it and him, then started sliding it on.

Cara's POV 

"How well are you with gang areas?" Tank asked me. I turned to face him. I had started heading back to my cubicle, not getting any farther than the Control room before Tank spoke.

My head tilted up on it's own accord. "Well." I responded, then paused. "Why?"

"Because we're down on people and we can use all the help we can get right now."

"Okay, what do you need me to do?"

"Put this on." He tossed me a bulletproof vest. I glanced between it and him, then started sliding it on.

"No way." A third voice said. I turned to look where it was coming from. Lester. He was standing in the doorway, fully geared, his shirt extra large from where his vest was strapped on, extra two guns and a knife added to his arsenal.

"Lester." Tank warned. "We need all the help we can get and you know it."

"There is no way that I'm involving her in this! It's to dangerous!" Lester shouted.

"She can take care of herself."

"Hey!" I screeched, turning to Lester. "You stop worrying about me! I will be fine, if this has anything to do with gang territory, and gangs, then I'll be fine, I know how to handle it. I can take down Ranger, which means I can take down just about anyone. Stop fussing, and explain to me, what's going to happen. Details." I finished, looking around, waiting for someone to speak.

"On the way." Tank said. "We're wasting valuable time."

With that, Tank made a motion I knew meant to follow him, and me, along with Lester, Bobby, Hal, and a group of others of which their names where unknown to me. Meaning I didn't know their name.

We all filled the elevator, and I had a light fear that the elevator wouldn't hold us. I was the smallest person in there, weighing probably a little more than half of everyone else, and I weight close to 140lbs, and am 5' 7". There was barely any breathing room with all seven or eight of us in here.

When the elevator made it to the garage on one piece, we all managed to get out, and into four SUV's. Me, Lester, Tank and Bobby in one. Tank pulled out of the garage, the other three SUV's trailing behind us, then started speaking. "Hector and Junior were undercover, acting as gun sellers to some of the Slayers on Comstock. Long story short, their cover was blown by an unknown source, and we have reason to believe they're in trouble."

I nodded, taking it all in. "Wasn't Hector out sick?"

Tank smirked slightly. "Not exactly, but that's what most people had to think for a while. We didn't want their cover blown like this."

It was only another five minutes before all four SUV's screeched to a halt in an ally. Everyone got out of their SUV, and we all gathered in a horseshoe around Tank, waiting for instructions. Tank pulled out a nice blueprint, and placed it on the hood of one of the cars. "Okay, so this is where we think Hector and Junior are." He paused to make an X on the map. "Our mission is to get them out alive. We have permission from TPD to cuff any and everyone who stand in the way. Use these," He said, pulling a box up from his feet, and handing one out to everyone. "To knock them unconscious. Use lethal for only if necessary." Next, he pulled out little walkie-talkies, and gave each of us one, along with a cord that plugged into it, and attached it to the small headset. I positioned the mike so I could speak into it, and tuned it to the station he said. Tac-10.

"Bobby, you're with me. Cara, Lester, you two go through here." He said, pointing to a side door of blueprint. "And cover these two rooms." Two rooms were pointed to and initialed on the map. "Zero, Manny, you go through the back, and sweep these two rooms." He said, pointing to two of the six rooms. "Bobby, and I will go through the front and take these two rooms." He pointed to two more on the map. "Hal, Brett, you two stay here and hold down the fort."

"Everyone clear?" He asked.

We all nodded. With that he motioned for us to follow silently. I kept the dart gun out, and my lethal weapons away, and kept up with Lester. He used two fingers to do a double point to each team, then single point to the way to their door. Lester and I split from the group, going towards our door, and stood in position. I stood a foot behind Lester, who was a good three feet from the door, waiting. Then we heard the count down through the head set.

"3-2-1-GO!"

Lester's boot connected with the door just to the right of the knob, splintering the wood on the frame. He stepped in, sweeping his side of the room, while I got mine. Empty. "LC1 clear." Lester said into the mike, motioning for me to follow. We took down three guys in room the next room, darting them. "LC2 clear." He reported. We could hear the others clearing as we had worked. "TB1 and TB2, ZMB1 and ZMB2 clear."

"Move in." I heard Tanks voice say.

Slowly, me and Lester crepted towards the door to the room suspected to hold Junior and Hector. "Ready- and-go!" Tank said again. We all crashed in, and stood, standing guns pointed at the empty room. I lowered my gun slowly. The room was empty. We were the only people there along with a table.

"Whats happening in there?" Hal asked over the mike.

"Nothing." Zero replied. "Junior and Hector aren't here."

That's when I saw it. The shadows shaped like people with guns that moved quickly across the room. I barely had time to shout a "GET DOWN!" Before gunfire ripped out across the room. I dove quickly towards Lester, knocking us into the other room. I slid behind the wall, ignoring the sting coming from my right thigh. I looked over at Lester before leaning out quickly to do a count.

Two in the window, three behind the table, and one trying to hide in a corner. He was out of view from all the other doors but ours, so if he was to lean out, he could surprise everyone else. I leaned out and fired two shots from the dart gun at the guy in the corner, then saw him start to sink to the ground. From the other side of the doorway, and all the other doorways, everyone else fired, at the remaining guys, until it fell silent.

"Everyone okay?" Tank called.

Everyone replied with a 'yes', or, a 'Nothing major.'

When I started to stand, the slight stinging grew to a sharp pair, and I paused, gasping in some air. Damn. I looked down at my leg; taking in the slice threw my right pant leg. I sighed with relief. It was just a graze.

Everyone filed out of the house, and we stood at the side of the house, slightly unsure of what had happened. Bretts voice filled my ear. "Check for any storm cellars."

We all nodded and split back up. "Got it!" Bobby called out. We all ran to them. The cellar door was pried open, and we all went down, guns drawn. Lester pulled out a flashlight, and he used it to find the bulb that hung above us n the ceiling. He pulled the string to it, and the room lit up with a dim glow.

There in the middle of the room, was Junior and Hector, bound and tied to chairs their backs to each other.

Half an hour later, I was stripping myself of my weapons in Lester's bedroom. He placed all his guns in a safe, and tossed the vest in the closet, then pealed off his shirt and came towards me. I had shed off most of my guns, so I tossed the last knife into the pile grimacing slightly when I moved my back. "Let me get this off you." He said, reaching for the Velcro straps. He pulled the all off, then pulled my vest off and was about to toss it when he stopped. He was staring at the back of the vest.

"What?" I asked.

He dropped the vest, and turned back to me. "Turn around." He said, gently turning me so my back was to him.

His hand pulled my shirt from my cargoes and pulled it up my back.

Lester's POV 

"Shit Cara." I grumbled.

She had a large red spot on her back, with purple and black laced in with it, all of which was flowering out from a center point. "What?" She asked again.

"You were shot in the back of the vest." I told her. "You're going to ache for a while."

She nodded. "My leg too, bullet grazed me." She said.

"You told Tank you were fine!"

"No," She said. "I told him that I'd live." With that, she pulled from me slightly, turning so she locked eyes with me. "I'll be fine."

I watched her for a moment. "I don't know about you, but I need a shower."

SI kept my eyes locked on her as her eyes lowered to the ground. "Uh…" She stuttered. "Could I, Uh…join you?" She finally asked.

I froze, then felt a smile capture my face. "Absolutely." I said, leaning in to give her a gentle kiss. "I think that would be wonderful."

Okay, so make sure to review, I will write in the shower scene, but I need sleep. I'm getting sick and I'm going to need all the sleep I can get so that I'm healthy. Also, I joined Volleyball, so I have that Wednesday, and Friday, then I babysit Isabelle and Sula on Tuesdays right after school then on Thursdays, I help run a troop of 2nd graders.  I'll post more next week!

**Again, there is 7 people getting this in an e-mail, I would LOVE more than two reviews, seriously, it doesn't take long. I review every story+chapter I read. ******

Heres the question of the chapter:

Which two seasons are an equinox (when the sun shines on the equator)?

Summer and Winter

Summer and Spring

Spring and Fall

Fall and Winter

Peanut Out.


	25. The Shower Scene

Okay, so the answer was fall and spring. If it was Winter and summer, then it would be a Solstice. 

Congrats to _Blackonyx21__and__HunnyDu2_ for getting the right answer! Anyway… 

A special thanks to:

Blackonyx21, Mysticw, - YES! There will be more! Thanks for reviewing! I love reviews! Jessbell43, 

**HunnyDu2,**

**Katy –** Katy, thanks for reviewing anyways, I wouldn't live if I was an internet-Phobe. Also, thanks; I'm pretty proud of how I've developed the non-major characters.  I love Lester.  Thanks!

**Sarcastic melody,**

And

AshleighLupinBlack 

For reviewing!

I almost screamed when I got 7 reviews! This is awesome! Keep them coming, I love them! ALWAYS! 

THE MOMENT YOU WERE ALL WAITING FOR(hopefully)… 

THE SHOWER SCENE

**Chapter 25**

With gentle hands on my hips, Lester guided me to the bathroom. He pushed the door shut behind us and locked it, probably because it was normal.

Turning back towards me, he locked eyes with me, his eyes searching mine. "You don't have to do this." He told me seriously.

I grinned. "I know, but I want to, lover boy."

He looked slightly shock, and I only smirked, and started peeling off my shirt. Once it was off, I noticed Lester still staring at me. "What?" I asked. "Do you shower with your clothes on?"

His trance seemed to be broken, and he managed to mumble an 'no'. He peeled off his shirt, and started on the buckle to his cargoes.

My back was aching, so I stretched slightly, then with a mental sigh I started pulling off my pants.

With both of us in our under garmets, he stepped around me carefully towards the shower, and turned the knobs, adjusting the temperature. With the water at a satisfactory temperature, he turned back towards me. His eyes were a darker green then usual, and he was obviously trying to hide, that, but he wasn't doing very well.

I cracked a small smile at that.

He stepped forward again, his hands coming up to frame my face, his eyes staring straight into mine. "You need to be sure about this." He said. "But you also need to know that you don't have to do this."

"Lester." I said, laughing quietly. "You already said that, and I'm positive. Plus," I added. "It's only a shower. I'll live."

He seemed to finally get it through his head, because his eyes darkened even farther, and he reached forward, his eyes searching mine for permission, as he went for the clasp on my bra. I nodded with a deep breath, and he undid the clasp, then slowly pulled it from my arms, his eyes fighting to stay on mine.

My heart was racing, almost beating out of my chest, I was so nervous.

Lester's POV 

A minute later, we were stepping into the shower. I had finished undressing her and taken off my boxers already. The warm water ran down her bruised back, and down my front. I leaned forward to give her neck a sweet kiss, and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her up against my naked chest carefully. I didn't want to hurt her, but I loved the way she felt.

I gave her neck another kiss, and after a few minutes, released her. "Will you turn around?" I asked her.

She shook her head giving me a shakey. 'No.'

I brought my hand up to stroke her hair, running my hands through the wet tangles. "Do you mind if I wash your hair?" I asked reaching for the shampoo bottle.

She shook her head again, as if say in _no I don't mind._

'Thank god.' I mentally said.

I squeezed shampoo onto my hands, and rubbed them together gently, then put it on her scalp, and started mixing it with the rest of her hair, until I was massaging her head, causing the soap to foam up more. I untangled her hair again, and spoke again, quietly. "Will you turn around? I need to wash the soap out of your hair." I told her, giving a reason to repeat the question.

She was silent; her body still as stone. Slowly, her body shifter ever so slightly to the side. I brushed the soapy strand of hair from her face and turned her the rest of the way around, still being gentle.

Her arms were up over her chest; one finger in her mouth as it looked like she bit at her nail. Her eyes were firmly planted on my chest, not moving at all, and all I could think was that she had suddenly become this innocent and vulnerable person instead of the brave, strong person I knew. With careful hands, I pulled her finger from her mouth, not making any attempt to move her arms, and tilted her head back so her hair was under the water. Her eyes were brought up to mine, and she briefly closed them before opening them back up.

I ran my hands through her hair, letting the soap run from it. When I was satisfied that the soap was all gone, I tilted her head back to normal, but she kept her eyes on mine. As I reached for the conditioner, I couldn't help but let my eyes briefly take in the sight of her body.

She had soft curves, and she looked feminine, but you could easily see that she was built, her form muscularly sculpted.

Without missing a beat, I pulled the conditioner up, and did the same as I had with the shampoo, rubbing it on my hands, then messaging it into her scalp. I took a step back, and pulled her with me, then traded places. I quickly rubbed some shampoo into my hair, and leaned into the water to get it out. I did the same with the conditioner, quickly rinsing it out. I switched out places back around and tipped her head back into the water, I pulled my hands through her hair, enjoying the softness.

It was still silent, and with her hair done, I could tell she was slightly uncomfortable. When she went to look down at her feet, she blushed furiously, and simply stared at my chest.

I had a huge grin plastered on my face.

I grabbed the loofa, and poured some body wash on it, then rubbed it a bit so it foamed. Cara's eyes locked on the puff of foam covering the black loofa, then looked up to me slightly worried. "Don't worry." I mumble.

I placed it on her shoulder, and scrubbed in a small circle until I had covered the whole shoulder, then trailed to the other. I ran it playfully across the arms that covered her chest, and back to the clear shoulder. Once coating that one, I turned her so she was back to me again, and continued with small circles until her whole back was covered. I trailed down her leg lightly, then the other, but stopped when she seemed uncomfortable.

I kissed her clean neck as I wrapped myself around her, and stepped us under the water. The water ran down us, and I found myself lost in the feeling. The soap running down her, tickling my chest. I hung the loofa up, and ran my bare hands down the arms that had finally come to rest at her sides. I leaned my head on her shoulder, and spoke quietly into her neck. "Your gorgeous, Cara."

Her arm reached out and shut the water as I heard her mumble something like 'and your blind.' With a slight sigh, I pulled away, and pulled the curtain open. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist, then grabbed another, and turned back to Cara. He had her arms up again, and I tried not to notice the way her legs were pressed together. I managed to get the towel so that I was holding it behind her, then I wrapped it around her, making her finally lift her arms from her.

I lead her back to the bathroom, then quickly went back in and changed into a clean pair of boxers. She stood in the room, biting her lip, towel held tightly around her. "Uhhhh…" She stuttered when I came out. "I don't have any clothes here."

I smiled and nodded, silently walking to the door to the apartment.

Cara's POV 

He walked from the room without the least care of what the cameras saw, and as the door to his room shut, I saw him enter my apartment with no trouble. A minute later, he returned with a pile of clothes. "I just randomly grabbed a few things from each draw." He admitted, handing me the pile.

"Thanks."

"No problem." He said. "I figured you didn't want to walk across the hallway in just the towel."

With that, I disappeared into the bathroom. I dropped the towel when the door locked, and I set the pile of clothes on the closed toilet seat. I had a few pairs of underwear and a few bras, then some t-shirts, and a pair of cargos, along with my black flannel PJ's. I slipped on some underwear and a bra, then the black flannel pants, that were checked with different sized white stripes, and added a plain black T-shirt. I bent forward, shook my head, and flung it back, hoping that that helped place it.

I place everything in a pile just outside the bathroom door, and I walked over to Lester, slightly shy, and sore. "I know I'm tired, but first, I'd like to put some crème on that bruise." He said.

"Okay."

"Come on." He said, dragging me into the kitchen. He lifted me effortlessly onto the island counter top, and started to rummage around a cabinet above the sink, and came back with a bottle of crème. He walked around to the opposite side of the counter. He pulled the shirt up slightly, and rubbed on a thick layer of it, then dropped the shirt back over it.

He grabbed a bottle from another cabinet, and popped out some pills. "That's gonna hurt like a bitch in the morning." He told me, handing me two pills. I looked at them, then popped them in my mouth and swallowing them dry.

Back in the bedroom, he motioned for me to lie down, and he did a quick sweep of the apartment, turning off lights, and checking the lock on the door. When he came back in the only light on was the one on the end table, and he crawled in next to me. I was just kind of sitting there on the covers, not quite sure of what to do. It wasn't like we hadn't slept in the same bed together; but every other time we hadn't just showered together.

I heard him sigh from beside me as I sat there, looking around the room covered in shadows.

I turned to look at him, he was propped up on his elbow, looking at me curiously, but intensely. "Come here." He said quietly, one arm extended.

I bit the inside of my lip, and crawled over. His arm wrapped around my waist, and pulled on top of him, so I was resting on his chest. With a quiet sigh of my own, I rested my cheek against his warm body. He kissed the top of my head and then the room went dark. I felt a sheet come over us as the muscles in his chest rippled beneath my cheek. "Night Cara." He said.

With that I fell into a rested sleep.

11393

Okay, so that's all for now. I am EXAUSTED. **Yawns** I've been writing this all week, and it's 3 ½ pages long. I'm sad for the shortness, but I have one school day free after school, and the weekends. I babysit Isabelle and Sula Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday is Volleyball, and on Thursday I help run the two girls' troop. This week, I wont even have Monday. **Wimpers** it's sad, I know. 

Okay, so I have to freak about this. I went to my Memere's and Pepere's to visit them with my mom, and I was telling Memere how excited I was that after only a month and a half of consistent babysitting, I had 200 dollars in my account. Guess what she said. 'maybe you could help your mother pay her bills then' and she went off to dis mom on every money choice she's ever made. Dear lord, I was ready to rip her head off. We only saw her for 30 minutes, and she was already insulting her. URGH!

I promise to write more soon.  Also, quick thing, today, I got a plant I'm going to be growing, it's a Hyacinth. It's pink and purple, and it's growing in the fridge. Seriously, it says the fridge is a great place to place it, just not near fruits, they emmit some kind of gas that harms the bulb.  I'm siked!

See ya next week with a longer chapter, at _least_ as page longer. 

Press that little button that says 'Go' please! For my sake. I loved the 7 reviews! Really, it made me so happy, I wrote this chapter.  I made the whole thing the shower scene too!  If that's a good thing.

Erin Out.


	26. Daddy

I'm so sorry that I didn't write a question, there won't be one for this chapter either because the next one is the Epilogue. YES! I am finishing it. If you want a sequel, I'll write one, I probably will anyway, but not for a bit. Next, I'll be working on the story 'Secrets.' You should read it.  Here's the next chapter, it's called 'Daddy' Chapter 26

"Summers." I said opening my cell, seen as it had rung.

"Hey Kid." A voice said from the other side of the phone. I froze. My dad.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"Dad?"

"Yeah. Kid, it's me. I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, been a little rough around here." He said.

I sat down hard on the edge of Lester's bed. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday, like I said, it's been a little rough. Some of the guys were slacking and we had to take them out for an unexpected…test." He paused, and it was like I could feel his emotions through the phone. "I sent it out when we got back last night. You should get it sometime today."

I was still silent, though tears were welling up in my eyes.

When he spoke again, I lost it, sobbing all over the place. "I've missed you kid."

"I've missed you to Daddy." I managed to get out. Heard a slight shuffle, and looked to the left. Lester was in the doorway, watching me. His eyes were slightly wider than normal, and I guessed that he had heard what I'd said.

"How's your mother doing?"

"She's good." I said. "She's marrying _David_ tomorrow. She thinks I'm gonna be there." I said, disapproval and sarcasm in my voice.

There was a pause. "Is he good for her? Good for Kashy and you?"

I thought about that. "I think he might be good for mom, maybe even for Kashy if he controls his anger a bit, but not for me. That's not a problem though. I left, I'm living in Trenton now, I like it here, like starting over."

I could picture him nodding over the phone. "I'm sure Lester and Ranger will take care of you." He said.

I froze, my eyes going over to Lester's form. He had come closer, and was sitting next to me on the bed, his hand on my back in a comforting way.

"How'd you know where I was? Who I was with?"

"I love you Cara, Enjoy the present."

I stood, as if it would keep him from hanging up. "Wait, Dad! Don't hang up!"

"I'm here kid." He said.

I knew he wouldn't talk to me about what he knew, so I said the only thing I could think of, the one thing I wanted to say before he hung up.

"I love you too."

The dial tone hit my ear, and I pulled the phone from my ear slowly.

I snapped it shut, and dropped it on the bed, then followed behind it, my head swarming with thoughts. I lay on my back, ignoring as it protested - shooting little sparks across the flowering bloom of bruises from the shot to the vest - and just laid there.

"Cara?" Lester asked from beside me, his green eyes searching mine as he leaned over me so he could look me straight in the eye.

"Mmmm?" I responded.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Peachy keen." I said, more clearly.

After a minute of thinking, I sat up. "Your dad?" He asked.

"Yes." I said, then paused before continuing. "He called to say he loved me, and that he was sorry he didn't call sooner. He just got back from a test and called as soon as he could." I gave a watery laugh. "He said I'd get my birthday present later today."

"You said he trained men in the military?" He asked for clarification.

"Yeah, he specialized in survival training. That's mainly what he did, he'd train the new comers, then send them out with someone, and they had to use what they were given to survive and get to the meeting point in a limited time. Occasionally, he'd do the refresher on survival skills, and send the guys out alone, have do the same as before."

"Did you keep in contact with him?"

"He called me in between the sessions, the few days he'd be at the base, he'd give me a call, just to tell me he was okay, ask how I was doing, you know, checking in." I paused for a second, taking the time to debate weather to say what I was going to next. "You know, he was the only one to recognize something was wrong, he came back the one week a summer like usual, where my Mom thought I was at some friends house, and I'd spend the week with him out in the middle of the woods. He didn't push me to tell him anything, but I told him…most of it. He seemed to know what had happened already. Must be from someone he knew nearby. He came in every night that I had a nightmare, and helped me get back to sleep, and every morning and night or whenever I went for a run, he came with me, helping me navigate the woods, and making sure I got back okay." I paused again.

"One night, I remember going out with him, it was that one week, and we had gone to the run. One thing happened after another, and suddenly, I was alone, I don't quite remember how though, just that I was terrified when I realized that he wasn't there. I called out to him, and there was no answer. The only sound was that of animals. I stood there for a good five minutes, just thinking. I didn't move from where I was, I was facing the way I came, but I didn't head back because I knew that I wouldn't make it. You take bigger steps with your dominant foot, and I would have done a big circle.

"It was cold, and was wearing shorts and a light weight sweater, but it didn't help much, the cold was seeping through the jacket. By the time I was ready to start moving, I was frozen solid. I could barely move my fingers, and my teeth were chattering. I started walking forward through the non-existent trail, trying to find my way. I walked carefully, scarring each tree with a slash, as I walked by it. I didn't have my cell phone, and I didn't have a compass, or any sort of GPS. I should have though. I was lucky I got back. It's a good 10 square acres of land. 100 total acres to search if necessary. All I had was a general direction.

"When I finally did get back, my watch said that it'd been almost two hours. I had stopped twice to sit down and rest, attempting to warm my legs. My Dad had called in one of his near by teams, and they were searching the woods, attempting to find me. When he saw me, he ran over, and picked me up, right off the ground, still running towards the house. He wrapped me in tons of blankets, and turned the heat up in the cabin. He took my shoes off, but added another pair of socks. I was bundled completely in blankets, and there he was, holding me. He grabbed his walkie-talkie, and called them, telling them I was here, and instructing them to come." I turned to Lester, seemingly out of a daze.

"I got to meet all the men who had flown over here in a helicopter, fully geared, in the middle of the night, to come and find me. Apparently, my dad had called them when he got out of the woods and he still hadn't found you. Immediately dialed them and got them over here. When I got out, they had been there for an hour. The guys got back to the house close to half an hour later, and they all filed in. My dad introduced them to me, and I thanked them along with my dad, for helping look for me. Do you know what they told me?" I asked.

"What?"

"They all told me that they were proud of me for getting back, and surviving. Complete strangers complementing me." I was shaking me head.

"Cara, with what you were in, you could have easily been killed by some animal, or died of the cold…Your dad must have been proud too."

I smiled and nodded. "He told me he was going to make me wear my cell phone at all times, so he could track me if that were to ever happen again…" I stopped, a sudden realization hitting me, gasping with how everything clicked into place.

"Whats wrong?" Lester asked, worried.

I smiled. "Everything makes sense." I told him.

"What makes sense?" He asked.

"Who would have to abilities to get me in the middle of a road, where nobody would come, except for the perfect timing of one sleek black car?"

"Who?" Lester asked, obviously not getting it.

"My Dad. He had the resources, and the ability, and, sure as hell had the motivation. He knew everything. He knew what was going on at the house, and what had happened, every second of it. He knew that Ranger would be going down that road, and he knew that he'd pick me up." I smiled bigger. "What do you bet there was someone around to make sure I got picked up by the right person."

With that, I stood, doing a quick check of my clothing, and that I had my knife and cell phone. I ignored shoes for the moment, and darted for the door. "Cara!" He shouted.

"I'll be right back!" I called over y shoulder as I sprinted down the hall to the stairs. I took them two at a time up to the fifth floor, and burst through that door, and all the way down to Ranger's office.

He was on the phone when I intruded, and he turned to me, looking slightly shocked, his eyes floating to my bare feet, only raising an eyebrow as he ended his conversation. "What can I do for you Cara?"

"You knew my father."

He stared at me with a blank look. "Waterlyn." I told him. Mitchell Waterlyn."

There was a slight look of surprise in his eyes, but it went blank quickly. "Yes. "He said.

"Survival training?" I asked him.

"Yes." He answered. "He was my teacher, and did my refreshing course, as a test. Why?"

"Because he's the one who set this up." I told him.

"Set what up?"

"This!" I shouted, waving my hand around. "Me on the road, you finding me, taking me here. My father _knew_ that my home life was shit, that David hit me-"

Who's David, and why'd he hit you?" He asked cutting me off.

"David is my mom's new Husband, she married him a couple days ago, or tomorrow? I don't know, don't care."

Ranger's eye went black. "Don't freak at him, he's out of my life. But Ranger, it all fits. How I went from my room in _Maine_ to Trenton. He had the resources, I mean, when I got lost in the woods with him, he had eight men combing 100 acres for me within half an hour. They came in a _helicopter_ for Christ sake."

He nodded. "That would make sense. I don't know what you want me to do though."

I stopped. "Nothing." I said. "I just, guess I wanted to prove my theory right."

There was a knock on the door to Ranger's office. "Come in." Ranger said.

The door opened and Hal stuck his head in. "This package just came in boss. It's addressed to a 'Cara Summerland' It's been scanned for threats, none." He reported.

My eyes widened, and I turned to him, snatching it out of his arms. "Thanks. I said. "Gotta go Ranger, have a good day."

"Wait." He said, standing. Hal had already left, and he looked me straight in the eye before asking how my back was.

"Fine." I told him. "I can't even feel a thing."

"It will, it's just the Adrenaline. Get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded. "Thanks." Then turned and left. I walked back toward the stairs. I went down them, this time noticing how cold the metal stairs were. I went a little faster until I got to the safety of the dark carpeted flooring on the fourth floor. When I got to Lester's room, I knocked politely. The door sung open and he pulled me in carefully.

"How'd it go?" He asked.

"Good." I held up the package in my hands. "I got a package."

"Open it." He urged, pushing me toward the counter in the kitchen. I set it on the counter, and pulled out my knife, making a long slit in the tape and opening the flaps of the package with a smile on my face. Like a kid at Christmas, just this time it was me a week past my birthday, close enough though.

Epilogue Coming Next 

So? How was it? Reviews? I only got two for this chapter, and that makes me sad. I want MORE! And then, even more for the epilogue. You guys should be happy, you have a nice…medium four full pages, and a little into the fifth page. I'm going to go and watch the first hour of Carrie, then Moonlight!  I'm so excited for it.

Let's get the counts first though…

Words: **64,729 **(Wippee!)

Chapters: **26** (this included)

Reviews: **47** (Not including chap 26's reviews)

Average Reviews Per Chapter (So far): **1.88** reviews per chapter. (Boo)

Total Pages in story (without stuff before and after each chapter and no epilogue): **109! **

Review PLEASE!

P.S. I'm Posting this early so I have more time to post the Epilogue and get it good.  Hopefully it'll be pretty long, and I'll give you the Stats again, updated though.


	27. Epilogue

I've had a great time writing this, and I will take one more chapter, purely to spell out whats happening next. I know this ones short, but I don't need long for this one, it's short and sweet. I'm very proud of it, though it gets a bit cheesy. Thanks for the support guys, Please review, I love them.

Erin

Chapter 27 – Epilogue

It'd been two months since I got the package from my Dad, and two months since I got a call from him, though he had sent several letters. Last week Lester had asked me to 'move in' with him. It didn't take much thought. I grabbed the 'tremendous' amounts of stuff I had unpacked – about as much as I had two months ago – and drag it across the hall. Lester also meant to his apartment outside of the building, which was currently getting the last of the renovations done to it. Apparently there was a big electrical problem, and they had to tear out half the walls, and they've been putting them back up and fixing anything else that was damaged along the way. He, though more like we, were expected to be able to move in there by the end of the week. Four days. Lester had started packing a bit, putting extra clothes he wouldn't need in the duffel bags, and placing them safely in his closet. I left my stuff all bagged up, and used stuff out of the bag.

I had stayed to my end of the deal as he had, and helped him with flexibility. I kept with him doing stretches morning and night, and constantly running. He was excited when he could touch his toes without bending his knees. I just laughed at him.

"Oh come _on _Lester." I groaned as he refused to leave the bathroom. I had told him to change into the sweat pants and a T-shirt, and once he had them on, he wouldn't leave the room. All I told him once he got in there, was that I was going to start working on being able to do the splits.

"No way." He said. "I like my groin muscles _intact._" He said.

How was I going to get him out of there? Be mean.

"Fine." I told him. "Then you _don't _get to spot me on the bars."

Lately, we had been going to the gym I found when I left the building with Ranger panting behind me. Lester and I got memberships, and went there every other day. I didn't like to do any releasing of the bars with out someone there to spot me. I taught him the basics, how to help change my landing if it wasn't going well. For instance, if I was doing a nosedive, he could either risk his neck and get under me and catch me, or he could make it so I landed on my ass. I preferred the first on, though landing on my ass on all those mats wasn't that bad.

Lester liked spotting me, because he found interest in watching me move in my leotard. Pervert.

"Okay. I'm coming. Just _please_ go easy on me."

"Don't I always?" I asked with an innocent smile.

"No." He stated, opening the door and walking past me. He paused, turning back around to me. "Don't smile like that, it makes me think your up to something."

"Who me?" I asked again, still smiling.

I didn't need to be physic to know how the day was going to go. After the gym, we'd come back, shower together and go to work. It's how it always went.

I had gotten over the ocuardness between us, the whole touching him thing. Sleeping next to him, neither of us in much was one thing, but I didn't actually touch him like he did to me. He's play with my hair, or my stomach and I'd do nothing. Now, I had no problem running my fingers across his eight pack, I found it quite fun to tease him like that.

We'd taken to showering together since that day, in fact, most every shower I took included a blond-haired, green-eyed hunk. If I got in first, and he was just getting back, then he'd come and join me, or vise-versa, though I felt a little odd. My shampoo and Conditioner, along with my razor were in his bathroom, and my guns were with his, locked in the safe, in his closet. I of course was trusted with the combination, and went in there everyday to get the arsenal I carried everyday. That, by the way, had been reduced to two guns and a knife, what most RangeMen carried, instead of three guns and two knifes.

Back to the Shampoo though, that was an interesting story. Steph and I had hit off pretty well. We went shopping together occasionally, which wasn't as bad as it could be. Well, one day we had gone out shopping, and I remembered that I was low on shower stuff…

"_So, where do we want to go first?" Steph asked me, glancing over at me._

"_What stores here sell Shampoo and conditioner?" I asked._

"_The hair salon of course." She said. "Silly Cara, we're going to visit Alexander. The hair miracle."_

_I knew who Alexander was, he saved Steph's hair when it got burnt off, or egg stuck in it. _

What really made the trip story wise, was what she asked me on the way to Alexander's.

"_So, how was it?" She asked._

_I looked over at her blankly. "How was what?" I asked._

"_You know." She said, her eyes waggling up and down. "__**It**__."_

_I frowned. "What?"_

"Come on." She said staring at me in a disbeliving mannor. "You can't honestly tell me you and Lester haven't gone at it like rabbits yet."

_My mouth dropped open. "You're kidding right?" I asked._

"_No." She said. "I want details."_

"_God." I muttered. "You sound just like Lula and Connie." I shook my head then looked at her. "No, Steph, me and Lester haven't had sex." I told her._

_Her nose wrinkled. "Why not?" She asked. "He likes you, you obviously like him…"_

"_Steph, when we're ready, it'll happen, until then, I like things the way they are." She smiled and nodded._

That had been the most uncomfortable conversation in my life, but it still stood true. I was - technically speaking – a virgin, and he is probably not. From what I know, Lester was the one night a girl type of guy, and apparently that had snuck up on him. This was one of many things I knew about Lester, that I had leaned in the last two months. That one girl a night thing that snuck up on him, was a kid. One of the girls he had slept with, had gotten pregnant, and he was now graced with a 6-year-old son. His name was Hollis Shea Glenn. Lester showed me a picture of him, and he was adorable. He had Lester's eyes for sure, they were bright green, and made my heart melt, just like his father's did.

Lester had visiting rights, and Hollis' mother seemed okay with that – from what I heard – which was a good thing.

Well, Life goes on, Something Strange is bound to happen tomorrow, something that has never happened before, full of new experiences. But I've got to play it on day at a time, moment by moment, and enjoy it to the fullest, because you turn around, or flip the page, and BAM! It's been two months. Ironic huh?

The End 


End file.
